# AJ Herrera

> AJ Herrera is the VP of Corporate Marketing at Cloudflare, where he leads the brand narrative that recast a CDN company into the world's connectivity cloud. With over 30 years in high-tech marketing spanning Silicon Graphics, a decade running his own agency, and seven years shaping VMware's global brand, he brings both the craftsman's instinct and the operator's eye to one of the internet's most consequential infrastructure companies.

- **Role:** VP of Corporate Marketing at Cloudflare
- **Organizations:** Cloudflare, VMware, Gyro, Zoe Street, NetBooks Inc., Bravo! Marketing, Kelly Micro Systems, Silicon Graphics
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Architected Cloudflare's brand evolution from 'CDN company' to 'connectivity cloud' - a platform narrative spanning developers, CISOs, and enterprise leaders, Led VMware's global brand, advertising, and internal creative agency for 7+ years, including brand OS development and global TV, digital, and OOH campaigns, Founded and ran Bravo! Marketing for 11 years, building a B2B agency serving technology, life science, and professional services clients

## Career timeline

- **1989** — Joined Silicon Graphics as Manager of Developer Communications
- **1993** — Moved to Kelly Micro Systems as Marketing Director
- **1995** — Founded Bravo! Marketing, an interactive B2B agency for tech and life sciences
- **2006** — Concluded 11-year run as President of Bravo! Marketing
- **2007** — Joined NetBooks, Inc. as VP of Marketing
- **2008** — Became Partner at Zoe Street, a consulting agency for SaaS and infrastructure firms
- **2010** — Joined Gyro as VP of Strategy and Planning, focused on enterprise software and cloud
- **2014** — Joined VMware as VP of Brand and Advertising, leading global brand campaigns and internal creative agency
- **2021** — Joined Cloudflare as VP of Corporate Marketing in December
- **2023** — Led Cloudflare brand evolution to 'connectivity cloud' positioning
- **2025** — Named among Top 50 Cybersecurity Marketers & CMOs to Follow in 2026

## Achievements

- Architected Cloudflare's brand evolution from 'CDN company' to 'connectivity cloud' - a platform narrative spanning developers, CISOs, and enterprise leaders
- Led VMware's global brand, advertising, and internal creative agency for 7+ years, including brand OS development and global TV, digital, and OOH campaigns
- Founded and ran Bravo! Marketing for 11 years, building a B2B agency serving technology, life science, and professional services clients
- Named among Top 50 Cybersecurity Marketers & CMOs to Follow in 2026 by Gracker.ai
- Senior Instructor of East West Wing Chun Kung Fu

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Cloudflare announced a global workforce reduction of over 1,100 employees, restructuring for the AI era; Herrera's marketing team is navigating the brand implications of this strategic pivot.
- **2025-12** — Named among Top 50 Cybersecurity Marketers & CMOs to Follow in 2026 by Gracker.ai
- **2025-01** — Publicly quoted on Cloudflare's evolving stance on AI bot traffic and monetization models, signaling a shift from pure defense to revenue-enabling frameworks

## Links

- Website: https://cloudflare.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajherrera
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aj_herrera

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/aj-herrera
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-01