Why I Joined Okta: Security In The Innovation Age

With a few weeks under my belt, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve joined Okta as Chief Security Officer. From its founding, Okta’s leadership team has invested in building a world-class security program, and I’m looking forward to continuing their commitment to putting customer security first.

Over the past two decades, I’ve had the privilege of driving security and privacy initiatives at companies like SoFi, Google, and Ernst & Young. But leading security at Okta is my most exciting venture yet, as it comes with tremendous responsibility for not only the company, but our customers as well.

Every decision at Okta is made with our customers in mind, and I experienced this firsthand before joining the company. I was introduced to Okta when a former colleague and CEO of another security company highly recommended that I look into the Okta Identity Cloud for identity and access management. I followed his advice and was immediately impressed with Okta’s high-caliber talent and technology — the focus on security innovation was clear. Later, when exploring the opportunity to join Okta, I was equally impressed by the caliber of the leadership team and the highly-talented members of the security team.

They understand that we’ve entered a new age where the severity and frequency of cyber-attacks is unprecedented. Organizations are stuck in a catch-22 as they move to modernize their corporate infrastructure and are left with a pile of traditional security tools that don't fully meet their needs. That’s why I firmly believe in the power of the Okta Identity Cloud, which solves customers’ toughest security challenges while also empowering them to easily access the tools they need to keep innovating.

At Okta, we know our customers are moving fast, so it is our job to keep outpacing them and ensure that security concerns are never a barrier to innovation. Our security team will be responsible for implementing cutting-edge security solutions and solving highly complex problems. We will drive secure product development, manage technology risk and guarantee our cloud’s regulatory compliance.

For more information about Okta and our continued investment in security, visit https://www.okta.com/security/.