A new security leadership chapter
I’ve joined Cloudflare as Chief Security Officer (CSO), bringing more than two decades of security leadership experience from the financial and private sectors. My background includes tenures at SVB, HSBC, McAfee, Ameren, and Scottrade, where I led security teams at some of the world’s largest and most complex organizations. Throughout that work, the most valuable lesson has been that effective security programs are built on collaboration with talented, empathetic people — not just technology alone. Security evolves constantly, and the organizations that stay ahead are those that cultivate diverse, engaged communities around their defense efforts.
Scope of the role
My charter at Cloudflare covers two core responsibilities. The first is defending Cloudflare itself and the roughly 20% of websites that rely on its network. That means staying ahead of sophisticated threats while promoting a culture of innovation, so the company can keep developing solutions that address the most significant cybersecurity challenges its customers face.
The second part of my mandate is customer-facing: helping ensure that organizations using Cloudflare understand the full range of technology available to them. By sharing how Cloudflare operates internally and collaborating openly with customers, we can strengthen the broader Internet ecosystem together.
What drew me to Cloudflare
When I started looking for a new role, I was searching for a company whose values aligned with my own interests in technology and security. Cloudflare stood out for several reasons.
The company’s mission — helping build a secure, faster, and more reliable Internet for everyone — was a natural fit with my personal convictions. The clarity of that mission and the organization’s commitment to it made a strong impression early in the process.
From a technical standpoint, Cloudflare’s global network is unlike anything I’ve seen elsewhere in the industry. The sophistication and scale of that infrastructure puts the company in a distinctive position to protect customers. Their track record of continuous improvement, building on an already strong platform to keep technology best-in-class, further reinforced that impression.
I was also struck by the quality of Cloudflare’s customer base. Many of the world’s most respected companies rely on Cloudflare’s services, and I’m eager to help those customers benefit from the internal security practices Cloudflare has developed.
Finally, the people made the difference. Throughout 17 interviews, I met individuals who were consistently professional and genuinely committed to the company’s mission. The connections I made during that process convinced me this was the right team to join. I’m looking forward to working with both customers and employees to advance security across the Internet.
