Interview: Tony Busseri, CEO of Route1
Tony Busseri is the CEO of Route1. He leads the management team in executing Route1’s strategic vision. Mr. Busseri is an entrepreneurial executive with a track record of producing results and shareholder value. He is committed to delivering Route1 solutions to customers and advancing excellence in the organization.
Mr. Busseri brings his background as a principal of Growth Equity Partners, a full service business advisory firm focused on supporting small to medium-sized private and publicly listed companies execute transformational business initiatives. Previously, Mr. Busseri served as a member of the board of directors, president and chief executive officer of EnGlobe Corp. from 2004 to 2008, and chairman of the board of directors, president and chief executive officer of Waste Services Inc. from 1997 to 2000. He is a graduate of the honours business administration program at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and holds a certified management accountant designation.
What are MobiKEY and MobiNET?
Route1 products and solutions are founded on assuring the identity of an individual, not a PC, tablet, smartphone or other device.
True, multi-factor authentication provides an easy-to-use security methodology to authorize users. The Route1 MobiKEY device is the “something you have, while the password or pin, which is verified against both the smartcard and the MobiNET platform, is the “something you know”.
MobiNET is the company’s patented communications and service delivery platform for identity assurance and individualized access to networks and data.
The Route1 MobiKEY device is an identity validation tool that simplifies the access component, while the MobiNET platform universally manages the identities of users and entitlement to digital resources through application software such as TruOFFICE. The MobiKEY device is completely clientless and driverless; it ensures that the user leaves no trace or evidence of their computing session on the guest computer, while protecting the enterprise network from any viruses, malware and even software keyboard loggers.
If the MobiKEY device is lost or stolen, enterprise networks cannot be compromised in any way – unlike other portable devices, which can be used to store sensitive enterprise data and can easily put organizations at risk. All enterprise files stay within the enterprise firewalls, simplifying security policy enforcement.
Who are your customers?
Route1 boasts a diverse, distinguished customer base comprised of government entities and private business/enterprises worldwide. U.S. customers of particular note include the U.S Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior. In addition, Route1 also works with the Canadian Coast Guard, the Government of the Netherlands – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Canadian Privacy Commissioner.
What did you do before this? What was your career path?
Prior to joining Route1, I served as a principal of Growth Equity Partners, a full service business advisory firm focused on supporting small to medium-sized private and publicly listed companies execute transformational business initiatives. Previously, I served as a member of the board of directors, president and chief executive officer of EnGlobe Corp. from 2004 to 2008, and chairman of the board of directors, president and chief executive officer of Waste Services, inc. from 1997 to 2000. I joined Route1 as an independent board member because I believed digital security was an attractive, important and growing sector.
What do you look for in potential hires?
At Route1, we hire “talent”. We look for people who are searching for a career, not a job; we want those individuals who prove to be exceptional at executing on a timely and quality basis.
For the security professional who wants to be an entrepreneur, what advice would you give?
The market has to see value in your offering. Just because there is a problem, does not mean the market will immediately accept and pay for the solution. Think ahead: develop for tomorrow, not today.
What is the full potential of what Route1 can do as a company? What’s the long term vision?
An increasingly remote workforce and global community that depend on the Internet for its communications and access to information is finding itself more and more vulnerable with every passing day. Security breaches continue to increase in size, scope and frequency.
As more organizations store their data in digital files and thieves become increasingly sophisticated in how they gain access to those files. In addition, the proliferation of and continued adoption of mobile Internet computing has become the genesis for continued cyber attacks on the networks of both governments and businesses.
If enterprises truly embrace Cybersecurity, there is no limit to our growth.