Most cyber threats do not announce themselves. They exist quietly in exposed systems, forgotten digital assets, and overlooked vulnerabilities, waiting to be discovered by the wrong people. For Lukas Baumann, the CEO of LocateRisk, the quiet threat has always been the issue. Before he took over the reins, Lukas always found himself dealing with systems that were supposedly protected but weren’t quite so. It wasn’t the existence of such vulnerabilities that bothered him the most but the fact that many organizations lacked the slightest insight into where they were vulnerable to being exploited. This is where Lukas’s journey with risk management and security began.
Rather than taking security as some abstract or overly complicated entity, Lukas became so determined to show and make digital risks tangible, measurable, and thus actionable. Today, through LocateRisk, he is helping organizations rethink how they understand and manage their external attack surfaces, transforming cybersecurity from a reactive process into a proactive one.
Discovering Risk Where Others Saw Stability
Lukas’s interest in cybersecurity was not driven by trends or titles, but by repeated firsthand experiences. Time and again, he came across systems that were considered secure simply because no incidents had occurred yet. “Systems that were considered secure often were not,” he explains. “What bothered me was that many companies didn’t even know where they were vulnerable. They lacked an overview.”
This lack of visibility stood out to him as one of the biggest weaknesses in traditional security approaches. While organizations invested heavily in internal compliance and controls, they often ignored what their infrastructure looked like from the outside. Lukas wanted to close that gap. As he puts it, “I wanted to make these invisible risks visible.”
That motivation guided his early years in security research and shaped his thinking around automation, scalability, and practical risk assessment. He was less interested in theoretical security models and more focused on solutions that could work across industries and organizational sizes.
From Research to Real-World Impact
Before becoming CEO of LocateRisk, Lukas spent years working in startup environments and security research, constantly exploring what technology could realistically achieve. The turning point came with funding from ATHENE (StartUpSecure), which validated both the technology and the problem LocateRisk was trying to solve.
“That confirmation mattered,” Lukas recalls. “It showed us that what we were building wasn’t just technically interesting, but actually needed.”
The transition from researcher to managing director felt natural. Lukas wanted to see the technology applied where it mattered most: in real organizations facing real threats. LocateRisk was built with that exact purpose in mind, to automate IT risk analysis, enable recurring audits, and provide a clear, external view of a company’s digital exposure, including its vendor ecosystem.
Over time, the platform gained recognition for its innovative strength, earning multiple technology and business awards and establishing itself as a trusted name in automated cybersecurity risk assessment.
Leadership Grounded in Speed, Trust, and People
As a leader, Lukas is clear about what matters most. Speed is one of his core principles. In cybersecurity, delays can be costly, and slow responses often mean missed opportunities to prevent damage. “In security, slowness can be expensive,” he says.
Another key principle is the seamless integration of AI. For Lukas, artificial intelligence is not an add-on or a future goal. “AI is not a niche topic for us,” he explains. “We integrate it into our daily workflows until it becomes normal.” This approach allows LocateRisk to scale knowledge, automate analysis, and support decision-making without overwhelming teams.
Equally important is the human side of leadership. Lukas believes people do their best work when they enjoy what they do. His role, as he sees it, is to align individual motivation with organizational goals. “If that fits,” he says, “the quality is right, too.”
Finding Balance Beyond the Office
Leading a fast-growing cybersecurity company comes with intense demands, but Lukas does not believe in a strict separation between work and life. Technology and security genuinely interest him, even outside working hours. Still, he recognizes the need for balance.
Mountain biking and traveling into nature offer him space to disconnect from daily operations and think more strategically. “In the quiet, I can think clearly,” he explains. These moments away from screens and meetings help him reflect, plan, and return with renewed focus.
Scaling Challenges and the Shift to Structured Growth
One of the most significant challenges Lukas faced while scaling LocateRisk was sales. The company developed quickly, but growth required aligning customers, partners, and new team members around a shared understanding of the product.
“We had to change our mindset,” Lukas says. “Processes instead of lone wolves.” Relying on individual heroes who save the day may work temporarily, but it is not sustainable. Instead, LocateRisk focused on embedding expertise into processes, supported by technology and AI. This shift allowed the company to grow without losing consistency or quality.
Staying Close to the Customer
Despite rapid innovation, Lukas is firm about keeping LocateRisk client-focused. For him, innovation and customer needs are inseparable. “If a customer sees a gap, we don’t wait two years,” he explains. “We build a prototype, test it, and deliver.”
This tight feedback loop ensures that development stays relevant and practical. LocateRisk does not aim to overwhelm clients with theory. Instead, it filters out noise and delivers concrete insights into exposed attack surfaces. As Lukas explains, “We don’t show theoretical risks. We show hard facts.”
Trust as the Foundation of Cybersecurity
In an industry built on credibility, Lukas believes leadership behavior directly shapes trust. “Trust is created through behavior, not marketing,” he says. His employees interact with customers daily, and the way leadership operates sets the tone for every interaction.
Transparency, precision, and reliability are values Lukas emphasizes consistently. Ultimately, he believes that only a dependable product can sustain trust in cybersecurity.
A Broader View of Risk Across Industries
Working with clients across different sectors has reinforced one key lesson for Lukas: while maturity levels differ, the nature of cyber threats remains largely the same. “An attack hits everyone similarly,” he explains. What changes is how organizations interpret and prioritize risk.
LocateRisk meets companies where they are, providing data that clients can contextualize based on their own priorities, whether that is compliance, operational continuity, or financial stability.
Looking Ahead: A Clear Vision for the Future
Lukas’s long-term vision for LocateRisk goes beyond ratings and assessments. He wants the company to become the standard for security ratings while also closing the loop between detection and resolution.
“A rating alone is not enough,” he says. “We give companies tools to actually fix found problems.” His goal is a digital ecosystem that is not just better documented, but measurably safer.
A Final Word
As Lukas reflects on his journey, his mission remains straightforward and grounded. “Our purpose is simple,” he says. “Transform lives through innovation, service, and trust.”
In a digital world where unseen risks can have real consequences, Lukas Baumann continues to focus on making the invisible visible, and empowering organizations to act before it is too late.
