Thomas H. Lee Partners

How a Leading Private Equity Firm Uses Managed Detection and Response (MDR) to Standardize Risk Management Across 35+ Portfolio Companies

Solution and Results

eSentire MDR provides 24/7 threat detection and response for 35+ Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) portfolio companies to improve their cyber controls, governance, and mitigate the risk of impacting deal valuation.

eSentire MDR includes best-in-class tools at a cost-effective price for THL’s portfolio companies as part of service delivery.
A team dedicated to identifying and containing threats rapidly so their management teams can focus on growth and scaling.
eSentire Managed Phishing and Security Awareness Training helps identify risk areas for employees, test user resilience, and drive behavioral change across all users.

Business and Security Outcomes

24/7 eyes on glass with a dedicated team to identify, contain, and respond to advanced cyber threats on the firm’s behalf.
Trusted guidance prior to investing in a new portfolio company to analyze their security measures and rapidly deploy eSentire MDR services.
A single-dashboard view that collapses visibility across the whole portfolio, with direct escalation to executives when something urgent is detected.
Reduced cyber risk through a consistent, standardized security posture across the portfolio.
A dedicated Technical Account Manager for the firm, separate from the SOC analysts protecting each portfolio company, who runs fund-level reviews and supports security diligence on new acquisitions.

The Business

Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) is a Private Equity firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm actively invests in 35+ mid-market growth companies spanning the Business and Financial Services, Consumer and Retail, Healthcare, and Media, Information Services and Technology industries.

With almost 50 years as investors and operators, THL has raised $35 billion of equity capital, worked with more than 170 partner companies around the world, and fueled more than 600 add-on acquisitions that represent an aggregate enterprise value of over $250 billion.

The Challenge

Cybersecurity breaches and threats are pervasive concerns for any entity storing valuable data or managing large sums of money: private investment funds are no exception. CIOs have begun to put stronger cybersecurity practices in place to defend against attackers, and private equity firms are better defended than ever. But attackers know that portfolio companies are smaller, growth companies, with lean cybersecurity operations that are less mature.

As a PE firm, THL knows it’s a high-value target for threat actors: every acquisition or exit announcement draws attention, and simply being in the news puts the firm in attackers’ sights.

“We want our management teams to be focused on the things that are going to move the needle and help the company grow, and generate revenue. What we didn’t want is the internal organization consuming valuable resources, people as well as capital, building out teams to have a robust set of capabilities.”
— Mark Benaquista, Managing Director, Strategic Resource Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners

THL also wanted complete visibility into the cybersecurity posture of each portfolio company in a standardized, easy-to-consume way.

“I’m one person, and I have another gentleman on my team, and the eSentire team becomes those arms, legs, and experts that help us understand where we are in the full deployment of MDR.”
— Mark Benaquista

As a result, THL also wanted a holistic view of the threat landscape impacting their portfolio companies, phishing and security awareness training for their employees, and the ability to identify cyber risks to protect their assets and help them mature.

Given the lack of in-house security expertise, limited access to best-in-class security tools, and the need for ongoing guidance on managing cyber risk, THL was looking to outsource 24/7 threat detection and response to an MDR provider.

Why Thomas H. Lee Partners Chose eSentire

THL was looking for an MDR provider that could act as a trusted advisor and partner, not just to the firm, but to each of its portfolio companies. They wanted a partner:

That wasn’t tied to any single technology
One that would use best-in-class tools to help the firm understand the risks that existed
How risk was mitigated and managed
Where improvement was needed and how to address it

As part of the selection process, THL took a collaborative approach with the CISOs from their portfolio companies to align on the goals and the approach to take prior to partnering with a security provider. The firm eventually chose eSentire to be their trusted security partner to provide:

Managed Detection and Response (MDR) to safeguard against cyberattacks and deliver 24/7 threat detection, containment, and response, continuous security monitoring, regular threat briefings, and access to world-renowned threat intelligence expertise.
Exposure Management Services to help each portfolio company steadily progress on their risk management journey and raise cybersecurity awareness with their employees.

The only way we can sleep at night is to have a partner like eSentire at our side.

Mark Benaquista

Managing Director, Thomas H. Lee Partners

A Standard Playbook

Pre-Close

eSentire brought in at close, or even before, to analyze the target’s security posture
Findings set expectations with the management team from day one
Establishes a security baseline before THL takes ownership

Day One

eSentire’s team becomes THL’s “arms, legs, and experts” on deployment
24/7 threat detection and response go live across the portfolio company
Full MDR rollout tracked until the company is live

Hold Period

Employees trained on security best practices as the program matures
Portfolio companies covered by the right cyber insurance
A rolling monthly view tracks who’s live, what’s deployed, and any open issues across all 35+ companies

Exit Ready

Standardized posture reduces risk from turnover and lost institutional knowledge
THL scales without slowing down or losing control of cyber risk
Portfolio companies exit with a mature, documented security program

Real-Time Visibility, Portfolio-Wide

Maintaining visibility across 35+ portfolio companies (with a two-person team) is a real challenge for THL.

“They escalate when necessary and will pull executives onto a phone call if we see something we think is urgent, because eSentire sees across our whole portfolio and then collapses that view for the firm to get a single dashboard, if you will.”
— Mark Benaquista

Mark also points to the benefit of what he calls the Security Network Effect that comes from partnering with a provider like eSentire:

“One of the things that we love is that, whether it’s a zero-day that eSentire discovered or it’s something else that’s happening fast, when it’s brought to eSentire’s attention, the entire portfolio gets the benefit of that within seconds or minutes; certainly, a day doesn’t pass. And having that network effect just translates into much better managed risk.”
— Mark Benaquista

Case study