# Mike Polatsek

> Mike Polatsek is the co-founder and CEO of CybeReady, a cybersecurity training company he founded with Omer Taran. His public work centers on continuous practice, adaptive learning, reliable measurement and constructive feedback. His professional biography describes more than 30 years of enterprise and government training experience, and his writing argues that security programs should measure improvements in employee behavior.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at CybeReady
- **Organizations:** CybeReady, KNOWLEDGE TO GO, Strauss-Elite, PAL Ltd.
- **Education:** BA, Tel Aviv University
- **Known for:** Co-founded CybeReady with Omer Taran., Helped build the company through a self-funded European development period preceding its 2019 U.S. expansion., CybeReady had 130 European customers by June 2019, according to contemporary SecurityWeek reporting.

## Career timeline

- **1985-1990** — Training and development consultant to the IDF, as listed in a secondary professional directory.
- **1991-2000** — Owner of PAL Ltd., according to the same professional directory.
- **2000-2002** — Director for Knowledge Management & Learning at Strauss-Elite, according to the professional directory.
- **2002-2019** — Owner of KNOWLEDGE TO GO, according to the professional directory.
- **2014-2015** — Co-founded CybeReady with Omer Taran in Tel Aviv. The company and contemporary reporting use 2015; Startup Nation Central lists December 2014.
- **2018-11** — Announced Shlomi Gian as CEO and his own move to chief strategy officer.
- **2019-06** — CybeReady announced a $5 million Baseline Ventures-led funding round and U.S. expansion after four years of self-funded operation.
- **2021-07** — As co-founder and CSO, participated in the announcement of Eitan Fogel as CEO.
- **2024-02** — A secondary professional directory lists the start of his current CEO tenure; the CEO title is independently confirmed in 2025 interviews and the current company website.
- **2026-06** — Published a World Cup-themed essay on role-specific cybersecurity practice.

## Achievements

- Co-founded CybeReady with Omer Taran.
- Helped build the company through a self-funded European development period preceding its 2019 U.S. expansion.
- CybeReady had 130 European customers by June 2019, according to contemporary SecurityWeek reporting.
- CybeReady raised $5 million in a Baseline Ventures-led round in June 2019.
- Published commentary on employee learning with the National Cybersecurity Alliance and Cybersecurity Insiders.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — CEVRO University listed Mike Polatsek to present its October 20 Prague workshop on human risk management and CybeReady. The listing does not verify his attendance.
- **2026-06** — Published “What the 2026 World Cup Can Teach CISOs About SAT” on June 9, identified as founder and CEO.
- **2025-01** — Published “In Praise of Bureaucracy” on January 3 and appeared in a topsoft interview published January 30 as CybeReady CEO.

## Links

- Website: https://cybeready.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikepol/

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