KnowBe4 names Alex Callihan as Chief Technology Officer

KnowBe4 has appointed Alex Callihan as Chief Technology Officer, promoting him from within after more than nine years on its engineering team.

Most recently Senior Vice President of Engineering, Callihan now oversees product innovation and research and development across the business. He will focus on securing both AI agents and human users as organisations face a changing mix of cyber threats.

The appointment comes as software and cybersecurity companies reshape leadership teams around artificial intelligence, with product development increasingly tied to tools that monitor and protect automated systems as well as staff. As part of that effort, KnowBe4 has recently introduced products including Agent Risk Manager and AI Defence Agents, known as AIDA.

Callihan brings more than 15 years of software engineering experience to the role. He will report to Chief Executive Officer Bryan Palma and work with the product management, customer success and marketing teams.

His promotion is part of a wider management reshuffle. Fran Roberts has been appointed General Manager of KnowBe4 Studios, while Mark Patton has moved into the role of Chief Scientist.

Patton will work with Palma and Callihan on special projects tied to the company's longer-term direction. The changes reflect a broader realignment of senior leadership as the business adapts its product strategy to AI-related security risks.

KnowBe4 says it serves more than 70,000 organisations worldwide. Its platform combines attack simulation, training, collaboration security and agent security, drawing on behavioural data collected over 15 years to address threats including social engineering, prompt injection and shadow AI.

Leadership shift

Palma said Callihan had played a central role in building the company's engineering organisation over the past decade.

"Alex has been an invaluable leader within our engineering organisation for nearly a decade, instrumental in scaling our technical capabilities," said Bryan Palma, Chief Executive Officer of KnowBe4. "As we navigate a new era of digital workforce security, where securing both AI agents and humans is paramount, Alex's expertise and vision make him the perfect choice to lead our next-generation research and development. His leadership will be critical as we continue to pioneer innovative, AI-driven defence solutions for our customers worldwide."

The company is placing greater emphasis on what it describes as digital workforce security, reflecting the overlap between employee behaviour, automated systems and AI-enabled tools in corporate environments. This has become an increasingly prominent area for cybersecurity providers as businesses seek ways to manage risks from both human error and machine-led activity.

Product focus

Callihan said the business was at a significant moment in its development and in the wider cybersecurity market.

"I am incredibly excited to step into the new role at such a pivotal moment for KnowBe4 and the broader cybersecurity industry," said Alex Callihan, Chief Technology Officer of KnowBe4. "Over the past nine years, I've watched this team push the boundaries of innovation. I look forward to working closely with our product, marketing and customer success teams to accelerate our platform and deliver the best defence solutions against advanced threats like prompt injection, shadow AI and social engineering to our customers."

The leadership changes follow the launch of new products aimed at helping organisations understand and reduce risks linked to AI systems and manipulated content. The launches suggest the company is broadening its security offering beyond awareness training into tools that address newer forms of digital exposure.

By moving Callihan from an internal engineering role into the top technology post, KnowBe4 is betting on continuity as it develops products for a security market being reshaped by AI. Patton, now Chief Scientist, will work closely with Palma and Callihan on special projects to advance the company's long-term vision.