Former BlackBerry exec joins cybersecurity firm eSentire

James Yersh, former chief financial officer of BlackBerry Inc., has been appointed chief administrative officer of eSentire Inc., a private cybersecurity services company based in Cambridge, Ont.

Yersh played a key role in BlackBerry’s transformation from a hardware to a software business before he left the company in 2016. “James brings proven executive, financial and operational expertise with public companies in the global technology space,” said Kerry Bailey, eSentire CEO. 

“This, combined with his experience in scaling high-growth companies will be a significant asset to eSentire as we enter our next phase of growth.” Yersh will be responsible for finance at the company, as well as human resources and risk/compliance.

Most of the focus at eSentire has been in the mid-market, where its specially built technology and security analysts detect, investigate, and rapidly resolve cyber threats for businesses that don’t have the capacity for full internal teams and systems to protect sensitive data and the security of business transactions.

In August 2017, global private equity firm Warburg Pincus made an investment, reported at the time to be worth about $100 million, in eSentire.