Welcome back to another installment of our “Thrive Spotlight” blog series.
Our featured employee is Carlos Fernandez, Director of Account Management in the Asia-Pacific region. Carlos hails from the Philippines, but has lived and worked in Singapore since 2007. With Singapore as his Thrive homebase, he travels often between offices in Hong Kong, Australia, and sometimes the Philippines. Carlos is responsible for overseeing operations for the Singapore team, including help with procurement, vendor and project management, when needed. A firm believer in the importance and impact of teamwork, he also leads a team of Customer Success Managers (CSMs) in Singapore and Hong Kong while managing his own clients as an Account Manager and CSM in Singapore and Australia.
When he’s not wearing one of his many Thrive hats, Carlos prioritizes health and fitness by working out every day. He describes Sunday as his rest day, meaning he takes it easy by running about 10km (6.2 miles) while listening to 80’s and 90’s music! A very outgoing, outspoken people-person, Carlos loves to be around his people – family, friends, and colleagues. He also loves to travel, visiting different places, many of which are overseas. He makes it a point to including hiking as part of his trips – there’s that commitment to fitness again! During his actual downtime, Carlos watches shows on streaming services like Netflix and Disney Plus.
Hi Carlos! Can you tell us about your background and how you came to Thrive?
I started my career as a Call Center Agent for a technology firm. From there, I was a Help Desk Representative and eventually worked my way up to a Senior Desktop Support Engineer at Edge in 2016. I became a Client Services Manager, and now I’m part of the Account Management team at Thrive after the 2022 acquisition of Edge.
Where did you go to school or get training?
I finished my academics, from grade school all the way to college in the Philippines, where I completed my degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering at the University of Santo Tomas in Manilla.
What do you most enjoy about working for Thrive?
What I like most about working with Thrive is how they value their employees. They recognize hard work and dedication through awards and different incentives. I enjoy the people – colleagues and peers – and having great leaders who serve as mentors and care about the welfare of their staff.
Are there any recent exciting projects at Thrive you can tell us about?
As part of a small team in APAC, one of the things we have been looking forward to is the growth of the regions – both in the number of customers and internally. One of the initiatives we in place to achieve that growth is to promote the Thrive brand through events, campaigns, and our networks in the locations where the company has offices.
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Thrive Launches Network Detection and Response ServicesNew offering enables real-time response to stop potential cybersecurity breaches
Boston, MA, August 21, 2025 – Thrive, a global technology outsourcing provider for cybersecurity, cloud, and traditional managed services, today announced a new Network Detection and Response (NDR) service to further support businesses in their cybersecurity efforts. The new NDR service will monitor a business’ network to detect potential security incidents, enabling a quicker response and stopping breaches in their tracks.
The average cost of a data breach in the United States is $10.22 million, a 9% increase from the year prior, according to IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report. This drastic increase highlights the need for prevention and swift action in cybersecurity; however, current tools and services often don’t detect threats until they have already happened. By the time they notice a breach has occurred, the damage is already done.
Thrive’s new NDR service enables real-time responses, helping their clients shut down an attack as soon as it is detected. The service does this by using AI pattern recognition capabilities to monitor all traffic inside a company’s network and flag if there’s suspicious activity that could point to a data breach. This new service works in conjunction with Thrive’s existing Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service that correlates and analyzes logs to identify potential cybersecurity threats, and its Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) service, which detects and prevents malicious actions on servers and user workstations.
“When a cyberattack happens, time is of the essence – but relying on signature-based methods can cause a lag that can ultimately be detrimental to solving the problem quickly,” said Michael Gray, Thrive’s Chief Technology Officer. “Thrive is taking a layered approach to ensuring our customers are protecting themselves from cyberattacks. We want to empower our customers to be able to react in real time and stop a bad actor in their tracks, minimizing disruption to their business operations and ultimately protecting their bottom line.”
Thrive’s new NDR service is the latest of the company’s comprehensive solutions aimed at safeguarding the entire IT environment and securely optimizing business performance. Thrive’s tailored cybersecurity solutions ensure end-to-end protection of customers’ systems and data and enable businesses to stay ahead of potential threats. The more Thrive managed security services a customer consumes, the lower the cost, as Thrive automatically applies a tiered discount towards monthly incident response and remediation retainer for services.
To learn more about Thrive and its offerings, visit the website.
About Thrive
Thrive delivers global technology outsourcing for cybersecurity, Cloud, networking, and other complex IT requirements. Thrive’s NextGen platform enables customers to increase business efficiencies through AI, standardization, scalability, and automation, delivering oversized technology returns on investment (ROI). They accomplish this with advisory services, vCISO, vCIO, consulting, project implementation, solution architects, and a best-in-class subscription-based technology platform. Thrive delivers exceptional high-touch service through its POD approach of subject matter experts and global 24x7x365 SOC, NOC, and centralized services teams. Learn more at www.thrivenextgen.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Contacts
Hannah Johnston
AI agents evolve how automated customer service worksWe discussed with COO Scott Steele how the global managed services provider (MSP) and managed security service provider (MSSP) has deployed AI service agents. He shared how the agents are transforming the company’s contact center, and what lies ahead as AI customer service automation evolves.
ServiceNow’s AI-Driven Transformation: A Game-Changer for Enterprise Software and a Buy for the Long HaulReal-Time Performance Tracking: Dynamic dashboards let leaders measure AI’s impact on productivity, cost savings, and revenue. For example, Thrive automated 315,000 tasks via AI workflows, saving 21,000 hours of manual labor in six months.
Thrive Brings on New Leadership to Continue APAC ExpansionFarhad Jowharsha and Naveen Chodavarapu Join Team to Bolster Operations in Key Region
Boston, MA, August 12, 2025 – Thrive, a global technology outsourcing provider for cybersecurity, cloud, and IT managed services, today named Farhad Jowharsha as Vice President, APAC and Naveen Chodavarapu as Vice President, APAC Operations. Together, they will continue to accelerate Thrive’s global growth, with a focus on customer cultivation and success in the APAC region.
With almost 25 years of experience in consulting and sales leadership, Farhad brings a deep understanding of what companies need to be successful, both from a technology and service perspective. Most recently, Farhad served as the Regional Sales Director at Forrester Research, responsible for sales and customer retention, and as a trusted advisor for client executives, providing strategic insights and best practice solutions. He has previously held key sales positions at PTS, Integra-IT, Toluna, Corporate Executive Board, and Gartner. Farhad will be based out of Thrive’s Hong Kong office.
Naveen will lead the APAC Operations team out of Thrive’s Singapore office. He will work across APAC’s dynamic markets to advance customer growth, collaborate with industry leaders, and drive value with technology partners. Before Thrive, Naveen was the Head of Customer Success for Greater Asia at HP, where he focused on identifying the right strategies, services, and solutions to help customers realize tangible business outcomes. Naveen has previously held leadership positions at DXC Technology, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Alcatel-Lucent.
“Thrive is expanding on a global scale and bringing in the right leadership to help us advance that growth in a critical market like APAC, which is vital to the company’s future success,” said Bill McLaughlin, CEO of Thrive. “Naveen’s and Farhad’s combined experience in growing sales pipelines, taking a consultative approach, and understanding what it means to help the customer succeed will help us expand our footprint in Asia and ensure that every customer is getting the five-star service Thrive is known for.”
With offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia, Thrive expects continued growth in the APAC region, as it has experienced across the globe. Since receiving a strategic investment from Berkshire Partners and Court Square Capital in January 2025, Thrive has been on an upward trajectory. Thrive is also coming off several recent acquisitions, including Baroan Technologies and Abacode, which will bolster its compliance services and further add to its deep bench of industry expertise.
If you want to learn more about open positions at Thrive, visit the careers page.
About Thrive
Thrive delivers global technology outsourcing for cybersecurity, Cloud, networking, and other complex IT requirements. Thrive’s NextGen platform enables customers to increase business efficiencies through AI, standardization, scalability, and automation, delivering oversized technology returns on investment (ROI). They accomplish this with advisory services, vCISO, vCIO, consulting, project implementation, solution architects, and a best-in-class subscription-based technology platform. Thrive delivers exceptional high-touch service through its POD approach of subject matter experts and global 24x7x365 SOC, NOC, and centralized services teams. Learn more at www.thrivenextgen.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Contacts
Hannah Johnston
Cyber Defense Magazine August Edition for 2025Kevin Landt is VP of Product for Cybersecurity Solutions at Thrive, where he brings over 20 years of technology experience to helping mid-size organizations manage their security risk. He was previously VP of Product Management at Cygilant (acquired by SilverSky Security) and held product leadership roles at Opsgenie (now part of Atlassian), Relativity, the market leader in eDiscovery, and Kanguru Solutions, an encryption and mobile device management provider. Kevin has a BS in Computer Systems Engineering from Boston University and earned his MBA at Babson College.
For MSSPs, Compliance Is the Differentiator – Thrive Sharpens Its GRC EdgeThrive made a strategic move early this month, picking up Abacode to deepen its compliance bench. The Florida-based firm brings a combined cybersecurity and GRC model that fits right into Thrive’s approach, especially as customers face a wave of changing regulations, from CMMC updates to new AI and data privacy laws.
Thrive Acquires Managed IT Provider Baroan TechnologiesThird acquisition of the year sets Thrive up for massive growth in H2
Boston, MA, July 23, 2025 – Thrive, a global technology outsourcing provider for cybersecurity, cloud, and IT managed services, today announced the acquisition of Baroan Technologies, a leading Managed IT Support provider specializing in enterprise-level IT solutions across a variety of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, marketing, and more. The acquisition further strengthens Thrive’s Managed IT services and adds to its growing hub in North Jersey and the Tri-State Area.
Thrive’s mission is to empower their customers to harness the promise of technology, achieving success by proactively utilizing IT, cybersecurity, and cloud best practices to drive ROI and desired business outcomes for their valued clients. Together, Thrive and Baroan Technologies will ensure that customers have access to top-tier resources that securely enable them to operate their business across verticals and regions.
“Baroan Technologies shares our customer-centric approach and has a strong reputation for working closely with its customers to ensure they are strategically implementing technology to support business operations,” said Bill McLaughlin, CEO of Thrive. “By tapping into their deep industry knowledge, Thrive will continue to deliver best-in-class technology solutions to all of our customers and propel our growth and success even further.”
This acquisition – the third of the year for Thrive – builds on the company’s tremendous growth, having completed 13 acquisitions over the past two years and growing their headcount to 1,500+. Thrive is doubling down on key areas such as compliance with the recent acquisition of Abacode, a leading Managed Cybersecurity & Compliance Provider (MCCP) and the launch of its new Compliance Center, filled with unrivaled resources and expertise that educates mid-market businesses on international, federal, state and industry-specific regulations. Through these acquisitions and strategic service area expansions, Thrive is committed to meeting customers where they are and looking around the corner to be ready to serve customers through the next innovation, threat, or regulation.
“For nearly 30 years, Baroan Technologies has been trusted by businesses in the Tri-State area to help them be more successful with technology,” said Guy Baroan, CEO of Baroan Technologies. “Thrive shares our passion for putting the customer first, and with their support and services, we can expand the impact for even more businesses.”
To learn more about Thrive, visit their website.
About Thrive
Thrive delivers global technology outsourcing for cybersecurity, cloud, networking, and other complex IT requirements. Thrive’s NextGen platform enables customers to increase business efficiencies through AI, standardization, scalability, and automation, delivering oversized technology returns on investment (ROI). They accomplish this with advisory services, vCISO, vCIO, consulting, project implementation, solution architects, and a best-in-class subscription-based technology platform. Thrive delivers exceptional high-touch service through its POD approach of subject matter experts and global 24x7x365 SOC, NOC, and centralized services teams. Learn more at www.thrivenextgen.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Contacts
Hannah Johnston
Celebrating AI Appreciation Day 2025: Technology Leaders Reflect on AI’s Revolutionary YearMichael Gray, Chief Technology Officer at Thrive
AI Appreciation Day is a timely reminder not just to recognize the breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, but to reflect on what’s required to actually realize its value. AI adoption isn’t just a technology play; it’s a data readiness challenge. While many organizations are intrigued by concepts like agentic AI, they have yet to take the foundational steps needed to adopt these technologies responsibly and effectively. Most companies do not have a clear AI strategy in place, and even fewer are confident in their ability to move pilots into production.
The companies that are finding success with AI have one thing in common: they ask the right questions from the start. What business process are we trying to improve? Do we have the right data to power this use case—secure, governed, and fit for purpose? Who owns the outputs, and how do we ensure accountability? Without governance, management, and clear structure around AI agents, even the most promising pilot will stall.
And as we deepen our reliance on AI, we can’t forget the cybersecurity implications. We’re entering a reality where we’ll have to fight AI with AI. Threat actors are already automating the low-hanging fruit. If organizations want to stay ahead, they’ll need to do the same and use AI to offload menial security tasks to free up talent for what matters most. But again, success depends on having the right data infrastructure and guardrails in place. Success with AI means seizing the opportunity and owning the responsibility.
Thrive Appoints Nicholas J. Smolansky as Chief Legal OfficerNew Executive Appointment to Oversee Legal, Compliance, and Government Affairs
Boston, MA, July 16, 2025 – Thrive, a global technology outsourcing provider for cybersecurity, Cloud, and IT managed services, today named Nicholas J. Smolansky as Chief Legal Officer (CLO). As the company continues to expand its leadership amid gangbuster growth, Smolansky will counsel Thrive’s growing executive team and lead its legal affairs.
With over two decades of experience leading legal teams and providing counsel through mergers and acquisitions in the technology industry, Smolansky brings a breadth of knowledge in scaling high-performing teams and managing complex transactions, legal affairs and human resources for leading organizations. Before joining Thrive, Nicholas served as Chief Legal Officer for Transfix Inc., where he grew the legal team and co-developed the company’s strategy for an announced initial public offering via a merger with a SPAC.
“As Thrive continues to grow, it’s important that we bring in the right experts who share our vision for building out our NextGen services through strategic investments, high-impact acquisitions and a culture of commitment and success,” said Bill McLaughlin, CEO of Thrive. “Nick has lived this vision in past roles, and I know he will bring the same enthusiasm to our executive team. Thrive only stands to benefit from his depth of experience in navigating strategic M&A activity and strong track record for propelling company growth.”
Thrive has been bolstering its leadership team amid what is set to be a record year for the company. Since November of 2024, Thrive has named Kristina O’Connell as Chief Marketing Officer, Kimberly Saturley as Chief People Officer, Ben Reich as Chief Financial Officer, and appointed Bill McLaughlin as CEO. With this team in place, the company continues its expansion into new geographies and service lines, with the goal of becoming the go-to MSP/MSSP for the mid-market.
“Thrive is unmatched when it comes to its quality of services, depth of knowledge, and strategic vision for the industry,” said Smolansky. “There couldn’t be a more exciting time to join this company, and I look forward to contributing to its culture of excellence and its ambitious plans for the future.”
If you’re interested in learning more about open positions at Thrive, visit the careers page.
About Thrive
Thrive delivers global technology outsourcing for cybersecurity, Cloud, networking, and other complex IT requirements. Thrive’s NextGen platform enables customers to increase business efficiencies through AI, standardization, scalability, and automation, delivering oversized technology returns on investment (ROI). They accomplish this with advisory services, vCISO, vCIO, consulting, project implementation, solution architects, and a best-in-class subscription-based technology platform. Thrive delivers exceptional high-touch service through its POD approach of subject matter experts and global 24x7x365 SOC, NOC, and centralized services teams. Learn more at www.thrivenextgen.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Contacts
Hannah Johnston