The story behind Cybermate — and the people making it happen.
A few years ago, an employee of a friend's small business opened an invoice from what appeared to be a legitimate client. The invoice was fake — and thousands of dollars, five months and some employees later, the business was only beginning to gain its footing again after a successful phishing scam.
Our friend's experience acted as the catalyst for our mission. How could a loyal, long-term employee in a successful business fall victim to a scam? We knew that psychology was the real key to cyber security.
A short while later, two motivated guys, Alastair Hood and Davide Defendi, decided to take a stand for SMEs and founded Cybermate. We scoured the world, the internet and everything in-between only to find components of a solution, or products designed for the 'big guys'. That's where our mission comes in: to make Australia the most cyber-resilient country in the world, starting with you.
"We wanted to develop an easy, intuitive and affordable way to mitigate risky human behaviour and the margin for error — without compromising productivity. Now, our idea is a reality."The Cybermate founding idea
We started from scratch to design a fully integrated system with, dare we say, pretty advanced technology. It had to be automated, easy, engaging and not distract our employees or businesses. Moreover, to see our mission fulfilled, we needed to ensure that Cybermate was cost-effective and accessible, so cyber security can be risk-free in all the ways that count. With the platform completed, Cybermate was ready to launch. Enter Greg Caleo.
Cybermate turned to Greg Caleo and the team at Blue Hat Green (BHG), a specialist brand and marketing agency for technology brands, to launch the Cybermate brand in ANZ. In early 2022, "Cybermate" was launched with a refreshed brand, new website and new positioning and messaging as the first affordable cyber awareness and training platform for SMEs that reduces human risk.
Greg's belief in Cybermate was so strong that he wanted some skin in the game and became a shareholder in 2022. Later that year, in December, Greg became the majority shareholder in Cybermate.
Buoyed by the new brand, improved features and a major Innovation Award under our belt, the Cybermate team grew to include Blue Hat Green's Head of Strategy, Grant Belcher, high-profile chief financial officer Greg Meddick, and technology entrepreneur Hamish MacKellar.
With a new look, new features, new recognition and a new management team, Cybermate has grown exponentially — and our affiliate and advocacy program keeps signing new evangelists to the mission.
Co-founder
Greg Caleo is a serial entrepreneur and a highly experienced Senior Executive and passionate sales and marketing professional. With a career spanning diverse industries, Greg has consistently led teams to new levels of success. His expertise lies in identifying growth opportunities, exploring new markets, and devising innovative engagement strategies. Greg’s journey includes working with well known brands such as Qantas, Jetstar, Sanitarium, Lend Lease, Bupa, ANZ, NAB, and Westpac, and most recently, working with technology and professional services brands in APAC, US and Canada. His track record speaks volumes, whether it’s navigating the competitive landscape or driving major market expansions.
Chief Technology Officer
Hamish MacKellar is a systems architect and AI specialist with deep experience designing and deploying high‑load, highly dependable cloud platforms. He’s spent his career building resilient systems, leading engineering teams, and delivering complex application, data and cloud‑migration projects across a range of industries. Hamish is leading the Cybermate rebuild, bringing his AI capability, architectural discipline and product vision together to create an adaptive, AI‑native platform built for the next era of behavioural security. He’s at his best when people around him grow — he leads by example, backs his team, and builds environments where engineers can stretch, learn and deliver their best work.
Head of Marketing
Grant Belcher has deep experience across technology’s global giants. He began his career as a programmer, operator and analyst before shifting lanes when a fascination with brand psychology and the way people relate to technology took over. Grant has always been driven by understanding how things work and why people behave the way they do. That curiosity evolved into an obsession with effective branding. He focused on creating distinctive assets, memorable positioning and creative that removes every barrier, both physical and mental, between a brand and its customer. He believes this is the most predictable path to growth. The final piece was embracing AI not as a replacement for people, but as an amplifier that gives human creativity, strategy, empathy and nuance the scale and speed modern brands need.
Head of Digital
Bonnie is an accomplished Senior Marketing Manager where she combines her passion for digital strategy with a keen eye for innovation. With over a decade of experience in the digital landscape, Bonnie has honed her skills in driving brand visibility, customer engagement, and revenue growth. Bonnie is a prolific content creator. Her articles, podcasts, blog posts and thought leadership pieces resonate with consumers worldwide. She demystifies complex concepts, making them accessible to all.
Client Services
With over 20 years of experience in corporate training, Susie has cultivated a deep passion for people, innovation, strategic growth, and delivering unparalleled customer value. Throughout her career, she has had the privilege of working with some of the brightest minds in the industry, driving transformative initiatives and achieving remarkable results. At Cybermate, Susie drives new business opportunities while also ensuring our clients receive exceptional support and success. Susie’s approach is centred around building strong, collaborative relationships and leveraging data-driven insights to create tailored solutions that drive long-term value.
Market Development Manager
Steve is the Market Development Manager at Cybermate, where he leverages his extensive experience in business development and client services to drive growth and innovation. With a background that includes roles at Agile Analytics, NTT Security, and VMware, Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record of success to the Cybermate team. His strategic vision and dedication to excellence make him an invaluable asset in navigating the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity solutions.
To allow every user to have the freedom to explore, grow and contribute without the fear of exploitation.
To create a safe space for users and eliminate risky behaviours to keep everyone safe around us.
Trust is everything. We want to restore business and people's confidence in the internet.
Making Australia the most cyber-secure nation on earth means backing the people and causes that need it most — not just the bottom line.
We proudly support Australian charities and not-for-profits with a 50% discount, forever — removing the cost barrier so they can focus on the people they help, not the risk of a cyber attack.
Every Australian school gets up to 50% off Cybermate, because a safe learning environment for students and educators is worth protecting.
A safer future isn't just digital. We back environmental sustainability and community-driven projects that help the world we live in stay strong for generations to come.
Cybermate is designed to meet the human-risk and behavioural assessment expectations defined within leading Australian and international standards.
Our behavioural-first training, phishing simulations and human-risk scoring align with the awareness, assessment and reporting requirements embedded across globally recognised cybersecurity and governance frameworks. This ensures organisations can uplift human-risk maturity while supporting compliance obligations across multiple jurisdictions.
"Cybermate was the only cost-effective cyber security solution for SMEs that addressed human risk, training and awareness."David Hall, Allunga Advisory
"Cybermate offers an affordable way to train your people and build their online resilience."Tony Chesher, Edmund Barton College
"There's no reason to take the risk with such an affordable solution as Cybermate."Chris Batson, Batsons Productions
Protect yourself from cyber threats with Cybermate today. No credit card required.
Book a demoAcknowledgement of Country
Cybermate acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
