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Welcome to this exclusive interview with our Vice President of Engineering, Kristen Komatz!
As the leader of Verosint’s engineering team, Kristen is responsible for building a product that will combat the growing risks of account fraud, enabling Verosint’s customers to confidently grow by providing a secure yet seamless experience to their online businesses and applications. She brings incredible experience in recruiting and retaining top talent, delivering high-impact products for enterprise use cases.
Let’s dig in and get to know this amazing leader, Kristen!
What about your past experience at Ping Identity and UnboundID will be relevant to your work here at Verosint?
At both UnboundID and Ping Identity, I built strong engineering teams that were critical to being able to deliver on the requirements of our products. Being able to hire and grow engineering teams is one of my core strengths. At Ping, I helped the team build a SaaS product that was both highly scalable and highly available.
The leadership team at Ping required that we work with globally-dispersed teams which has prepared me today to effectively lead and work in the remote-only environment that we have at Verosint.
How do you approach building and maintaining relationships with key clients and stakeholders?
First and foremost, I approach building and maintaining relationships with key clients and stakeholders by prioritizing communication and collaboration. I make sure to actively listen to our customers' needs and work closely with our team to ensure that we're delivering the best solutions possible.
I believe in creating a culture of transparency and honesty, which helps to build trust. Regular check-ins and updates on progress are also critical for maintaining strong relationships, as it shows that we're invested in their success and committed to delivering value. Ultimately, by prioritizing our customers' needs and maintaining open lines of communication, we can build lasting partnerships that benefit both parties.
What kind of leadership do you bring to the team?
My leadership style focuses on fostering a strong sense of teamwork and empowering my employees to excel in their roles. By building a collaborative and supportive environment, everyone will feel valued and motivated to contribute their best work.
Why did you decide to join Verosint?
I have worked with Steve Shoaff and Mark Batchelor, the founders of Verosint, previously and was excited for the opportunity to work with them again. I enjoy the challenge of building a team and a new SaaS product from the ground up. It gives me an opportunity to take what I’ve learned that worked (and what didn’t!) and create something that is the best of that experience to address a new challenge.
What are your top priorities in 2023?
My top priorities for 2023 are continuing to quickly deliver new functionality and address customer needs as they arise. Fostering innovation is important as we discover new ways to identify and prevent account fraud. Being a remote-only team, we strive to find the most effective way to work collaboratively - so we will continue to try new ideas, tools and methods in learning how to best stay connected.
What is your superpower that will help you succeed at enabling our customers to put an end to account fraud?
My superpower is building a strong engineering team and being able to create an environment where engineering collaborates closely with the Product leadership to build the right product to help solve our customers' online account fraud problems.
What’s your favorite feature of the Verosint platform?
My favorite feature in Verosint’s platform is SignalPrintTM - it’s the key to helping us solve more than just account takeovers (ATOs) but many other account fraud problems that continue to evolve in today’s fast-paced, digital world.
What do you believe is the biggest challenge for digital businesses today?
Answering the question of “who’s there?” Understanding how to know and be confident that the person logging in is really who they claim to be is the biggest challenge in digital businesses today is the biggest challenge for online businesses today.
Have you ever been the victim of account fraud, esp account fraud? Or, what account fraud story in the news really hit close to home for you?
Yes, unfortunately I have been a victim of account fraud. My information was used to claim unemployment benefits. I was confused when I was notified about an unemployment claim - and then I was scared about what I had to do to clear it up. I spent a good deal of time waiting on hold to talk to someone in the state unemployment office as well as time following up with my company’s HR team. It also left me concerned about future account fraud risk - what if this were to happen again? So, I have a vested interest in Verosint’s mission: to stop account fraud before it starts!
Tell us about your family or hobbies.
I have four daughters, a son-in-law and a grandson. I am busy traveling often to see family and friends. I like to spend as much time with my grandson as possible because he changes so much from visit to visit. I am also involved in Rotary and volunteer in various ways through this organization.
Where do you live and what’s your favorite part about your area?
I live in Austin, Texas and my favorite part of this city are the surrounding lakes. I would love to live on the water if I could!
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