# John Hering

> John Hering is a cybersecurity entrepreneur and technology investor who co-founded Lookout with Kevin Mahaffey and James Burgess, served as its CEO and later executive chairman, and remains on its board. He also co-founded Coalition and is a partner at Vy Capital. His early wireless security demonstrations helped draw public attention to the risks of mobile devices.

- **Role:** Co-founder and board member at Lookout; partner at Vy Capital; co-founder of Coalition
- **Organizations:** Lookout, Coalition, Vy Capital, Redacted, HackerOne, Hering Foundation
- **Education:** University of Southern California
- **Known for:** Co-founded Lookout and led it as CEO before its 2014 leadership transition., Co-founded cyber insurance and security company Coalition., Helped demonstrate long-distance Bluetooth connectivity during early mobile security research.

## Career timeline

- **2004** — Participated in early Bluetooth research and a connection demonstration over more than a mile.
- **2005** — Scanned for vulnerable mobile phones around the Academy Awards with the Flexilis team.
- **2007** — Co-founded Lookout with Kevin Mahaffey and James Burgess; presented at Microsoft BlueHat.
- **2008** — Lookout launched a consumer Windows Mobile security product.
- **2010** — Lookout launched on Android.
- **2011** — Lookout launched on iOS.
- **2014-03** — Moved from Lookout CEO to executive chairman as Jim Dolce became CEO.
- **2016** — Participated in a televised phone-security demonstration with Sharyn Alfonsi.
- **2017** — Co-founded Coalition with Joshua Motta.
- **2026** — Listed on Lookout’s board as co-founder; described in reporting as an equal partner at Vy Capital with Alexander Tamas.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Lookout and led it as CEO before its 2014 leadership transition.
- Co-founded cyber insurance and security company Coalition.
- Helped demonstrate long-distance Bluetooth connectivity during early mobile security research.
- Named to Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business list in 2013.
- Helped establish the Lookout Foundation and its corporate equity commitment.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Reporting summarized by Dealroom described Vy Capital as led by equal partners John Hering and Alexander Tamas, with $50 billion in assets under management as of June 2026 and a roughly 3.4% SpaceX holding.
- **2025-07** — Reporting described Vy Capital closing to new external capital while continuing to invest.

## Links

- Website: https://hering.org/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhering
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/johnhering

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/john-hering
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11