Ory Corp, known for maintaining the most popular open-source ecosystem for authentication, authorization and federation, has appointed Jeff Kukowski as its new CEO. Drawing from his experience at companies like SecureAuth, Yubico (YUBCF), CloudBolt, and Axon (AXON), Jeff brings practical knowledge and a clear vision that will benefit Ory's open-source roadmap and the companies operating within the Ory Network — one of the largest Identity and Access Control Networks in the world.
The increasing adoption of open-source for IAM coincides with market needs for better scale, control and security. Ory's solutions continue to gain momentum within organizations modernizing their identity stacks across multiple sectors today. Meanwhile, mounting complexities and identity-related security risks within modern cloud infrastructures are escalating, further fueling demand for a reliable solution and rapidly expanding the IAM market. With cyberattacks continuing to evolve in sophistication and frequency, protecting digital identities has never been more crucial.
According to a recent 2023 survey, a staggering 90% of organizations encountered at least one identity-related breach in the past year, representing a 7.1% increase from the previous year's figure of 84%. With the number of attacks and breaches expected to rise, Ory's strengths in flexible deployment options and seamless integration into multi and hybrid cloud solutions have been catering to companies needing to modernize how users securely access information.
“Ory has clearly been leading the way for engineers to solve complex challenges that are not well solved by existing market players. Open-source adopters and companies on the Network celebrate their ability to have more granular control, flexibility and security in the way they implement critical access for their workers, their partners and their customers — machines and humans alike. I am excited to work with our community and partners to meet even more of these success-defining challenges,” said Kukowski.
“Jeff is a cybersecurity, multi-cloud and identity and access management professional who understands the complexity of today’s environment. With a track record of putting customers first, he is perfectly suited to help accelerate identity efforts in this complex new world,” said George Mathew, Chairman of Ory Corp and Partner at Insight Ventures.
In related news, Ory has recently closed its Series A extension with an additional $5 million investment, led by Insight Ventures and Balderton Capital. This additional funding will bolster Ory's efforts to fuel product development, enhance customer support, and increase growth marketing initiatives.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Jeff as CEO of Ory. Companies around the world are rethinking user management and access control. Ory offers secure, transparent solutions, uniquely built on top of open source. Jeff’s deep industry knowledge and experience will be invaluable in further accelerating Ory’s growth.” said Colin Hanna, Partner at Balderton Capital.
“We are excited that Jeff joined Ory as CEO. His expertise will advance our growth alongside our community and customers. With Jeff on board, we move one step closer to securing the internet,” said Aeneas Rekkas, Founder and CTO of Ory.