# Mike Baukes

> Mike Baukes is the Hobart-based co-founder and CEO of UpGuard. A former enterprise technology leader in financial services, he co-founded the business with Alan Sharp-Paul and took it through Startmate in 2012. His public work focuses on making technical risk understandable and actionable across vendors, external systems and workforces.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at UpGuard
- **Organizations:** UpGuard, ScriptRock (former company name), Colonial First State, Lloyds Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, E*TRADE, Startmate
- **Known for:** Co-founded UpGuard and developed it from its ScriptRock origins into a global cyber risk business., Participated in the 2012 Startmate accelerator cohort., Led UpGuard as CEO when it announced US$75 million in Series C funding in February 2026.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2012** — Worked in enterprise technology, architecture, engineering and operations in financial services; employers included Commonwealth Bank, Lloyds Banking Group and E*TRADE.
- **2012** — Co-founded the business now known as UpGuard with Alan Sharp-Paul, participated in Startmate and moved a five-person team to Palo Alto in August.
- **2014** — Spoke publicly about collaboration, enterprise DevOps and lessons from organizational change.
- **2016** — Publicly identified as UpGuard co-founder and co-CEO alongside Alan Sharp-Paul.
- **2018** — Later described a pivot toward security posture, attack surface management and vendor risk.
- **2021** — UpGuard announced a US$19 million Series B-1 round.
- **2024** — UpGuard introduced Managed Vendor Assessments and Trust Exchange and expanded its executive team.
- **2026** — UpGuard announced a US$75 million Series C led by Springcoast Partners.

## Achievements

- Co-founded UpGuard and developed it from its ScriptRock origins into a global cyber risk business.
- Participated in the 2012 Startmate accelerator cohort.
- Led UpGuard as CEO when it announced US$75 million in Series C funding in February 2026.
- Published commentary on enterprise security, vendor trust, authentication and DevOps.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — UpGuard announced that it was named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Third-Party Risk Management Services 2026.
- **2026-09** — UpGuard launched a free security tools hub including an AI Policy Generator.
- **2026-08** — UpGuard became available on Google Cloud Marketplace.
- **2026-03** — UpGuard published its Context Gap Report, based on a survey of 400 security leaders.
- **2026-02** — UpGuard announced US$75 million in Series C funding led by Springcoast Partners.

## Links

- Website: https://www.upguard.com/team/mike-baukes
- LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/mikebaukes
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/mikebaukes

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mike-baukes
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22