Jul 1, 2024
Life in the Swimlane with Mark Bjerke, Regional Sales Director
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Welcome to the “Life in the Swimlane” blog series. Here we will feature interviews with Swimlaners to learn more about their experience. This series will give you a preview of Swimlane, our culture, and the people who keep us going.
My name is Nikko (Nick-Oh) Warford, and I live in a small town called Castro Valley in California. My wife and I moved here seven years ago because it reminded us of Mayberry, and we love the small-town vibe. It’s hard to find a place open past 9 PM. My wife is Gabriella, and we have two boys, Ryder, age three, and Dominic, who is one and a half. I grew up in Palo Alto but moved quite a bit, so I’ve lived all over the San Francisco Bay Area.
What does your job entail?
I’m a Sales Director, focused on the West Coast market and I’ve been with Swimlane for six months now. My goal is to connect enterprise organizations with a highly effective and flexible platform to automate their workflows and achieve security outcomes for their business.
What do you enjoy most about working at Swimlane?
Definitely the people. Everyone is willing to jump in and help at a moment’s notice. I’ve worked at so many organizations where the first answer to a question is always ‘no’. The people here will always find a way to make things happen, no matter the challenge.
What excites you most about your work?
As silly as it sounds, I would say the conversations with our clients, especially in person. Organizations come to us at varying levels of automation maturity and I enjoy discussing how we meet them where they are today and grow with them over time.
What do you like to do when you aren’t working?
I like to be outside, you’ll typically find me mountain biking on a trail or snowboarding in Tahoe. Also spending time with the kiddos. I take them with me on mellow trail rides and we’ve already begun introducing snowboarding to them. They love it.
Your motto or personal mantra:
“Be rooted in love, driven by purpose, and fueled by joy.”
Three words that best describe you:
Gritty, Fearless, and Anchored.
What Swimlane core value resonates with you the most?
“Happy Innovators” instantly stands out—especially in cybersecurity. It flips the script. Most people associate this field with burnout and constant pressure, but this phrase says: We’re creative problem-solvers who love what we do. It signals a team that’s not just technically sharp, but also energized, resilient, and proud of the culture they’re building.
What type of impact do you want to leave on our industry?
Simply, I just want to leave my mark as a trusted resource who provides value and empowers clients to stay a step ahead of the bad guys.
Life in the Swimlane
Swimlane is a rapidly growing, innovative startup in the Denver metro area with a passionate team focused on improving the lives of security practitioners through security automation and orchestration. We’re always looking for dedicated, ambitious problem solvers who thrive in a fast-paced work environment to join our team.
