# Ethan Schmertzler

> Ethan Schmertzler is the co-CEO and co-founder of Dispel, which provides secure access to industrial systems. A Middlebury psychology graduate with a background in front-end engineering and technology investment analysis, he has worked in cybersecurity since 2014. His public interests include outdoor expeditions, amateur radio, photography, cooking, and furniture making.

- **Role:** Co-CEO & Founder at Dispel
- **Organizations:** Dispel, NOLS Advisory Council, National Defense Industrial Association, NATO (industrial advisory role), CISA (Sector Coordinating Council membership), Phillips Academy Addison Artist Council, Triplemint, National Security Equity Partners, True Ventures
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A. in psychology, cum laude, Middlebury College, Phillips Academy Andover
- **Known for:** Co-founded Dispel and developed its industrial secure-access business., Reported growing Dispel organically through new contracts to more than $10 million ARR by June 2019., Graduated cum laude from Middlebury College.

## Career timeline

- **Before Dispel** — Worked as a lead front-end engineer at Triplemint and a financial analyst at National Security Equity Partners; Wellfound also lists a summer analyst role at True Ventures.
- **2014** — Began building Dispel and reported a $1.5 million seed round in a 2019 interview.
- **2015** — Dispel’s current corporate history dates its founding to 2015; Schmertzler reported a follow-on Series A that year.
- **2016** — Published writing on network privacy and startup cybersecurity.
- **2017** — Dispel received Gartner Cool Vendor recognition, according to his CSO contributor biography.
- **2019** — Reported more than $10 million in company annual recurring revenue and a team of over 43 people in a three-part interview; these are historical company figures.
- **2023** — Discussed Dispel’s apartment beginnings and expedition-oriented culture on the BreakLine Arena podcast.
- **2026** — Continues as Dispel co-CEO; discusses identity assurance and writes about water-utility remote access.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Dispel and developed its industrial secure-access business.
- Reported growing Dispel organically through new contracts to more than $10 million ARR by June 2019.
- Graduated cum laude from Middlebury College.
- Serves on the NOLS Advisory Council; its biography also records industrial advisory and sector-coordination roles.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Dispel announced Ken Young as CTO and Chris DiLorenzo as Founding Engineer; Schmertzler commented on giving both leaders room to do their work.
- **2026-10** — Listed as a speaker at the ICS Cybersecurity Conference for a session on critical-infrastructure identity assurance.
- **2026-09** — Published a practitioner brief on NIST SP 1800-45 and water-sector OT remote access on September 9.
- **2026-08** — Dispel launched Identity at Black Hat USA on August 3; Schmertzler discussed verifying the person behind an account.
- **2026-01** — Dispel announced Integrated Threat Monitoring; Schmertzler emphasized the security team behind remote-access technology.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanschmertzler/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ethan-schmertzler
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-08