# Ian Schmertzler

> Ian Schmertzler is co-CEO and co-founder of Dispel, an operational-technology cybersecurity company he started in 2015 with his brother Ethan. A Yale-trained industrial engineer and former crew coxswain, Ian helped build Dispel's zero trust platform around Moving Target Defense - a system that keeps shifting network access points so attackers never find a static target. He serves as a principal investigator on three NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence projects and as vice president of the National Defense Industrial Association's NY-CT chapter, working to keep factories, water utilities, and power grids running quietly and safely.

- **Role:** Co-CEO & Co-Founder at Dispel
- **Organizations:** Dispel, National Defense Industrial Association (NY-CT Chapter), NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, BlackRock Financial Markets Advisory Group, Yale Investments Office
- **From:** New Canaan, Connecticut, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Yale University, MSc, Industrial Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Co-founded and scaled Dispel, an OT/ICS cybersecurity company recognized as a Gartner Cool Vendor and a Forrester New Wave leader, Principal investigator on three NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence projects, Vice President of the National Defense Industrial Association's NY-CT chapter

## Career timeline

- **2009-2010** — Coxswain for Yale University men's crew (heavyweight)
- **2010s** — Worked at the Yale Investments Office and at BlackRock's Financial Markets Advisory Group
- **2015** — Co-founded Dispel with brother Ethan Schmertzler around Moving Target Defense
- **2015** — Dispel raised a $1.5M Series A (total funding ~$3M)
- **2023** — Discussed Moving Target Defense on the Waterfall Security OT cybersecurity podcast (Episode 90)
- **2026** — Continues as co-CEO of Dispel, now ~86 employees, headquartered in Austin, Texas

## Achievements

- Co-founded and scaled Dispel, an OT/ICS cybersecurity company recognized as a Gartner Cool Vendor and a Forrester New Wave leader
- Principal investigator on three NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence projects
- Vice President of the National Defense Industrial Association's NY-CT chapter
- Helped pioneer the commercial application of Moving Target Defense for industrial networks
- SANS Institute speaker on operational technology security

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Dispel published its origin story tracing the company's Moving Target Defense philosophy back to a rescued barn owl, marking roughly ten years since founding.

## Links

- Website: https://dispel.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ianschmertzler
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/dispelhq/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/dispelhq

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ian-schmertzler
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-12