Five-minute interview: Tim Goodwin, Rapid7

Morning, Tim, tell us a bit about what you do for a living

I manage Rapid7’s partner community across EMEA, supporting our partners by aligning our cyber security strategies with their business goals to enhance customer security outcomes.

Why are you the right person for this job?

I would like to think I am – nobody has told me I’m not…yet.

My role is all about clarity. This means ensuring partners deeply understand the best security solutions to reduce risk and enhance their customers’ security posture. With over 25 years of experience, my focus remains confidently guiding partners towards the most tangible and impactful results possible.

What gets you up in the morning?

Knowing that I can support so many partners in helping their customers secure their digital futures with great technology. Every day, I am motivated by the chance to empower our partners with the tools and knowledge they need to simplify cyber security and effectively address threats.

It is incredibly rewarding to see partners become self-sufficient, drive successful customer engagements, and genuinely enhance their clients’ security maturity and resilience. This is what my role is all about – making partners’ lives easier.

That, and the extortionate mooring fees for my boat! Got to pay for them somehow.

Who helped you get to where you are today?

So many people – too many to name, but I will call out my dad. I was heading for a career in the Royal Navy, following in his footsteps, but he guided me in a different direction, which set me on a path to where I am today. Thanks, dad.

What is the best or worst business advice you have received and from whom?

I am a keen sailor and I quickly discovered that the ocean doesn’t care about confidence – it rewards preparation, adaptability and clarity. Each challenge at sea teaches you the value of staying grounded and focused

I am a keen sailor and have been lucky enough to experience sailing offshore, crossing oceans. I quickly discovered that the ocean doesn’t care about confidence – it rewards preparation, adaptability and clarity. Each challenge at sea teaches you the value of staying grounded and focused.

The most capable sailors are not defined by their designer apparel or dramatic stories. They are consistent, honest and clear in their decisions.

This is the same principle in working with partners. Clear communication and genuine intent go further than complexity or spin. It’s a simple approach, but one that builds trust and delivers results.

What advice would you give to someone starting out today in IT?

Start with curiosity and stay humble. The pace of change in cyber security means yesterday’s best practices may not solve tomorrow’s challenges.

Invest in building real-world understanding – join events or communities to expand your knowledge and network. Partners invest in vendors that understand the customer challenges they’re trying to solve.

Perhaps most importantly, enjoy the ride and don’t try to become the CEO in your first five minutes.

Is it possible to get through an industry conversation without mentioning ‘digital transformation’?

It’s possible, but not always productive. The term may feel overused, but the concept behind it remains critical.

What matters more is translating ‘digital transformation’ into real impact: helping organisations align security with business goals, enabling faster innovation and managing risk with clarity.

At Rapid7, we focus less on buzzwords and more on measurable outcomes, because transformation only matters if it leads to stronger, smarter security.

At Rapid7, we focus less on buzzwords and more on measurable outcomes, because transformation only matters if it leads to stronger, smarter security

The core responsibility of partners is navigating customers through industry hype cycles and noise, and vendors themselves play a significant role in supporting this.

What do the next five years hold for the channel?

Over the next five years, the channel will become increasingly strategic, with partnerships driven by deeper alignment between technology and measurable business outcomes.

Channel partners want to build long-term, successful relationships with vendors. Partner programmes and academies will be pivotal in equipping partners with the knowledge and expertise to adapt swiftly and confidently to evolving threats.

Expect to see more customised, risk-aware managed services and partners taking greater accountability for security posture, driving greater efficiency and clearer value demonstration across the board.

Look closely for which opportunities to focus on.

Tell us something most people do not know about you

I was in the Guinness book of world records. I was part of the largest group of people dressed as superheroes in one location – or at least I was until there was a bigger group a few years later.

What goal do you have to achieve before you die, and why?

I want to sail around the world. Sailing is my passion. I have sailed across an ocean, but when we arrived, I had to come back to work. I would have been happy to keep sailing.

What is the best book you’ve ever read?

A world of my own by Robin Knox-Johnston. He was the first person to sail non-stop around the world at a time when there was no GPS, no satellite communications, and little in the way of home comforts – a true adventurer. The boat he sailed is moored three pontoons away from where I sail from.

And the worst film you’ve ever seen?

Les Miserables. Russell Crowe is a fantastic, award-winning actor, who has given many incredible performances, but there is a reason he has never held the number one spot in the music charts.

What would be your Desert Island MP3s?

Mr Brightside (The Killers); Paradise by the Dashboard Light (Meat Loaf); Tubthumping (Chumbawamba).

What temptation can you not resist?

Calories.

What was your first car, and how does it compare with what you drive now?

Ah, what you have asked me is, in part, a password recovery question, which I cannot answer for security reasons!

Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with? Why, what did they do?

Any politician, from any country. It’s more what they haven’t done.

If you could be any animal for a day, what would you be and why?

A sloth. I think I could easily adjust to their pace of life.

And finally, if you were facing awesome peril and impossible odds, which real or fictional person would you most want on your side and why?

Winston Churchill, because he has been there before.