Transcription of The Stock Network Interview with WhiteHawk (ASX:WHK), Non-Executive Chair Giuseppe Porcelli
Lel Smits: WhiteHawk is a cyber security and services company providing AI-enabled cyber risk assessment monitoring and mitigation solutions. The company is currently focused on expanding defense partnerships and building recurring revenue. Recent milestones include the appointment of Global Executive Adrian Bellino as Group CEO, a strategic partnership with Australian defense-focused IT provider, and $685,000 in customer renewals, program expansions, and new engagements.
I’m joined today by WhiteHawk’s non-executive chair Giuseppe Pochelli to discuss the company’s plans to utilize AI in defense to build recurring revenue. Giuseppe, welcome to the Stock Network.
Giuseppe Porcelli: Thank you for having me.
Lel Smits: Now, WhiteHawk has brought in a new CEO to lead its next growth phase while also placing AI at the center of your strategy. What’s the bigger opportunity you really see emerging here? And also, can you outline why you think it’s now the right time to be accelerating?
Giuseppe Porcelli: The bigger opportunity is really the convergence of the two forces. On one side, you know, regulators and defense customers are moving from encouraging cyber resilience to mandating it.
Whatever the CMMSC in the U.S. defense supply chain or the expectation, for example, from MAPRA and ASIC here in Australia. On the other side, the AI is fundamentally changing the economics of delivering cybersecurity management. What was before like a consulting team delivering a solution to an enterprise.
Today, you can have a full automated cybersecurity scopes. So it’s an opportunity at the moment for WhiteHawk to be just at that intersection, you know, in the middle of that. So having a decade of expertise into cybersecurity and adopting AI and merging the two together where we see the opportunity.
Lel Smits: Fantastic. And look, as you mentioned, defense has become a major focus for WhiteHawk from Addison Partnership really through to the opportunities across AUKUS, also U.S. supply chain. How large do you think this market could become for WhiteHawk? And also Giuseppe, what do you believe makes WhiteHawk well positioned to win here?
Giuseppe Porcelli: The defense is one of the largest and most demanding market in the world, you know, and the AUKUS program is pulling thousands of Australian companies into the U.S. defense supply chain for the very first time, you know, before each single company was expected to build its own path in the U.S. market by itself.
Today, we are supported by our players like Austrade and others into establishing our presence in the U.S. market. So of course, each of those companies will be required to be compliant to face the certification process, et cetera, et cetera. But what makes us really confident in our position is that, as I said before, our decade of experience in the U.S. market and our relationship with the existing departments into the federal government, for example, gives us an advantage as an Australian company, gives us an advantage because the relationship is there, trust is there.
We have been providing service across the border for many years. And now that we are part of the GSA script, which accelerate the procurement process, you know, and the onboarding of a new service for the federal department, we are very advanced in that.
Lel Smits: Giuseppe, thank you for the update from Whitehall.
Giuseppe Porcelli: Thank you very much.
Ends