British cyber-security firm Darktrace said CEO Poppy Gustafsson would step down today and be succeeded by chief operating officer Jill Popelka ahead of the completion of its acquisition by US private equity firm Thoma Bravo.
Poppy Gustafsson co-founded Darktrace in 2013 and led the company through its listing in London eight years later.
The company, which uses artificial intelligence to detect threats within its customers' networks, agreed a $5.3 billion takeover by Thoma Bravo in April.
Darktrace was backed by Mike Lynch, the British entrepreneur who died last month when his yacht sank off the coast of Sicily.
Ms Gustafsson said she was "immensely proud" of everything that she and her team had achieved.
"Together we have revolutionised the marketplace for cyber security and brought our AI-powered technology to almost 10,000 customers around the world, keeping them safe from cyber disruption," she said in a statement.
Jill Popelka, who has previously held senior roles at Accenture, Snap and SAP SuccessFactors, joined Darktrace's board in January before assuming her current role in June, the company said.
Darktrace was backed by Invoke Capital, a venture capital fund set up by Mike Lynch after his company Autonomy was bought by Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
Mr Lynch was a member of Darktrace's board until 2018, when he was charged with fraud in the US in connection with the Autonomy deal.
Mike Lynch and his co-defendant Stephen Chamberlain, who had also previously worked at Darktrace, were cleared of all charges in June.
Stephen Chamberlain died in a road accident in England last month, days before Lynch was killed.
Mike Lynch and his wife Angela Bacares owned around 7% of Darktrace when it agreed to be acquired by Thoma Bravo in April.
The deal is awaiting one final regulatory approval, expected by September 28, before it closes, Darktrace said.
