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Poppy Gustafsson stepped down as Darktrace CEO on 6 September 2024, and the company appointed then-COO Jill Popelka as her successor effective the same day. That transition is complete; Darktrace later named Ed Jennings President and CEO, with his appointment taking effect after a brief interim period in early 2026.
What happened on 6 September 2024?
Darktrace announced that Gustafsson would leave the CEO role with immediate effect on 6 September 2024. The company named Jill Popelka, then its chief operating officer, as successor, also effective that day. This was not a future-dated handover.
Gustafsson described her decade at the company in the announcement: “Darktrace has been a huge part of my life for the past decade, and I am immensely proud of everything that we have achieved.” Darktrace’s 6 September 2024 announcement
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Jill Popelka immediately succeeded Gustafsson as CEO and joined Darktrace’s board in that capacity. Popelka had joined the board as a non-executive director in January 2024, then took up the COO role on 1 June 2024, before becoming CEO on 6 September. Darktrace’s announcement of Popelka’s appointment as COO
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Who is Darktrace’s CEO now?
Popelka later stepped down at the end of January 2026. Darktrace appointed board chairman Charles Goodman interim CEO while it searched for a successor. On 9 March 2026, the company announced Ed Jennings as President and CEO, saying he would join on 23 March 2026. That stated start date has passed, so Jennings is the successor to Popelka; his appointment is a later leadership change, separate from Gustafsson’s 2024 departure. Darktrace’s announcement of Jennings’s appointment Darktrace’s announcement on Popelka and the interim CEO
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about Ed Jennings?
Darktrace said Jennings was most recently CEO of Quickbase and had previously served as COO at Mimecast, with earlier go-to-market leadership roles at Veracode, ADP, Copanion, and PTC. This is the background provided by Darktrace in its appointment announcement, rather than an independent assessment of his performance. Darktrace’s announcement of Jennings’s appointment
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