Callihan Brings Over 15 Years of Software Engineering and Leadership Experience to Drive Next Generation Agentic Research and Development

KnowBe4, the global leader in digital workforce security, securing both AI agents and humans, today announced the appointment of Alex Callihan as chief technology officer. Callihan has been with the organization for more than nine years as senior vice president of engineering and in his new role will lead innovation of new products, driving the next generation of KnowBe4’s agentic research and development.

Callihan brings over 15 years of experience in software engineering, driving product innovation. Reporting directly to Bryan Palma, CEO of KnowBe4, he will partner with the product management, customer success and marketing organizations to exponentially increase the velocity of product innovation for securing AI agents and humans.

"Alex has been an invaluable leader within our engineering organization for nearly a decade, instrumental in scaling our technical capabilities," said Bryan Palma, CEO 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 defense solutions for our customers worldwide."

The promotion of Callihan into the chief technology officer role, alongside the new appointment of Fran Roberts as general manager of KnowBe4 Studios, reinforces KnowBe4’s commitment to deliver best-in-class and innovative security solutions to its customers and remain the market leader in the industry. This strategic leadership alignment follows the recent launch of KnowBe4’s Agent Risk Manager and AI Defense Agents (AIDA): Deepfake Training Content, Content Creation and Orchestration.

"I am incredibly excited to step into the new role at such a pivotal moment for KnowBe4 and the broader cybersecurity industry," said Callihan, newly appointed 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 defense solutions against advanced threats like prompt injection, shadow AI and social engineering to our customers."

As part of the organizational evolution, Mark Patton transitions into a new role as KnowBe4 chief scientist. He will work closely with Palma and Callihan on special projects to further advance the company's long-term vision.

About KnowBe4

KnowBe4 empowers the modern workforce to make smarter security decisions every day. Trusted by more than 70,000 organizations worldwide, KnowBe4 is the pioneer of digital workforce security, securing both AI agents and humans. The KnowBe4 Platform provides attack simulation and training, collaboration security, and agent security powered by AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Defense Agents) and a proprietary Risk Score. The platform leverages 15-years of behavioral data to combat advanced threats including social engineering, prompt injection, and shadow AI. By securing humans and agents, KnowBe4 leads the industry in workforce trust and defense. More info at knowbe4.com.

Follow KnowBe4 on LinkedIn, X, TikTok and Instagram.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260616841892/en/