Clearwater's KnowBe4 names new president, CEO as founder steps aside

KnowBe4, a cybersecurity company specializing in security training for IT teams and an anti-phishing platform, announced Tuesday that it has appointed new leadership.

Bryan Palma is joining the firm as president and chief executive officer of KnowBe4, effective May 5. He will replace outgoing founder and CEO Stu Sjouwerman, who will be transitioning into executive chairman.

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Palma most recently served as CEO of Texas-based Trellix, a multibillion dollar cybersecurity company formed through the merger of FireEye and McAfee Enterprise. He has more than 25 years of experience working with the technology developments of major companies like Cisco, Boeing and PepsiCo according to a release from KnowBe4.

“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 says in a released statement. 

Sjouwerman will work closely with Palma on the transition in his role as executive chairman.

KnowBe4 was founded by CEO Stu Sjouwerman in 2010 and sold to Vista Equity Partners out of Texas in 2022 for $4.6 billion. Before going private, the company reported $246.3 million in revenue in 2021. Its Human Risk Management platform is used by over 70,000 organizations globally, focusing on awareness and compliance training, cloud email security, real-time coaching, crowdsourced anti-phishing, AI Defense Agents, and more.