Human risk management specialist KnowBe4 has announced the appointment of Bryan Palma as its new president and chief executive officer, effective May 5th.
The cybersecurity industry veteran replaces company founder and current CEO Stu Sjouwerman, who has transitioned to the role of executive chairman.
With more than 25 years’ industry experience, Palma arrives with a track record of scaling global technology enterprises through driving profitable growth, improving the customer experience, as well as delivering operational agility, KnowBe4 said.
He joins the business from multi-billion dollar cybersecurity giant Trellix, where he served as CEO of the company that formed through the merger of FireEye and McAfee Enterprise.
Prior to his tenure at Trellix, Palma led some of the world’s most prominent organizations through business and technology transformations – including Cisco, Boeing, EDS, PepsiCo, and the US Secret Service.
Palma also serves on the President’s National Telecommunications Advisory Committee, as well as the CloudBee board of directors.
“KnowBe4 is an incredibly important company in the cyber security ecosystem and at the forefront of human risk management and artificial intelligence,” Palma said in an announcement.
“I am humbled to join the company at such an important moment and accelerate the leadership position established by Stu and the team. I am looking forward to serving our global customers and proudly calling myself a Knowster.”
KnowBe4’s new executive chairman, Stu Sjouwerman founded the company in 2010 and went on to lead the business through multiple rounds of venture capital funding, various key strategic acquisitions, as well as successfully lead a public offering.
KnowBe4 has since grown to serve more than 70,000 customers globally with its AI-driven ‘best-of-suite’ human risk management platform.
As executive chairman, KnowBe4 said Sjouwerman will help guide its AI innovation and work closely with Palma on the transition.
“As Founder of KnowBe4, I am grateful to contribute to the creation of a new market category focused on managing human risk and confidently leave KnowBe4 in the capable hands of Bryan,” Sjouwerman commented.
