Fresh Leadership Brings New Perspective to Cyber Security Innovator
Bristol cyber security firm Immersive has strengthened its executive structure with the appointment of Mark Schmitz as Chief Executive Officer. The strategic leadership transition maintains continuity with founder James Hadley, who steps into the role of Chief Innovation Officer while remaining on the board.
Schmitz brings more than 25 years of enterprise software experience to the position, having previously served as president at Collibra and interim Chief Executive at Citrix Systems. His extensive background includes senior leadership roles at prominent technology organisations including SAP, Ariba, and Accenture—credentials that complement the technical foundation established by Hadley, a former GCHQ trainer.
The appointment marks a pivotal moment for the cyber security specialist as it prepares to enhance market reach and solidify its industry position.
Strategic division of executive responsibilities
The leadership restructuring creates a deliberate separation of duties that capitalises on the strengths of both executives. Hadley will concentrate on driving strategic vision and innovation, working in partnership with Schmitz, who assumes responsibility for operational execution and growth initiatives.
“We’ve achieved incredible milestones at Immersive and I am thrilled to bring Mark onboard and partner with him to usher in our next phase of growth helping our customers prove and improve cyber readiness,” Hadley stated regarding the appointment.
The founder emphasised that this transition allows him to focus specifically on fostering innovation and deepening customer relationships—areas aligned with his professional background and technical expertise. This targeted approach enables Hadley to contribute maximum value while Schmitz applies his substantial commercial experience to scale operations.
This leadership model reflects a maturing organisational structure designed to support growth ambitions through specialisation at the executive level.
Industry expertise underpins strategic direction
Schmitz is entering an organisation with established technical credibility but poised for commercial expansion. His appointment follows the addition of Oliver Newbury to the board just two months prior, who brings valuable perspective from his previous role as Chief Information Security Officer at Barclays.
These calculated additions to the leadership team demonstrate a methodical approach to assembling diverse expertise at the governance level. The combination of Hadley’s technical foundation, Newbury’s cyber security governance experience, and Schmitz’s commercial leadership creates a well-rounded executive structure.
“Immersive’s innovative approach to people-centric cybersecurity is critical for confronting today’s and tomorrow’s threats, and it’s a key aspect of my decision to join the company,” Schmitz explained about his new role. “I look forward to working with this amazingly talented team to accelerate growth and deliver exceptional value to our customers.”
This statement suggests alignment between Schmitz’s professional objectives and the company’s technical direction—focusing specifically on cyber drilling and exercising as methodologies for strengthening organisational security postures.
Market positioning through leadership calibre
The timing of these leadership changes indicates a deliberate phase shift for the Bristol firm. By securing executives with multinational corporate experience, the company signals readiness to compete at higher market tiers while maintaining its technical differentiation.
This approach acknowledges the evolving cyber security landscape where technical capability alone proves insufficient for sustained growth. The addition of commercially-focused leadership creates capacity to address market development, customer acquisition, and operational scaling simultaneously.
For organisations facing similar inflection points, this leadership transition demonstrates how founder-led companies can evolve their executive structure without sacrificing technical vision or innovation capacity. The complementary partnership model established between Hadley and Schmitz offers a template for maintaining continuity while introducing new capabilities.
The restructuring also reflects broader market maturation in the cyber security sector, where technical specialists increasingly require commercial sophistication to navigate complex enterprise sales environments and international expansion.