# Kevin Mandia

> Kevin Mandia is the founder and CEO of Armadin, co-founder and general partner at Ballistic Ventures, and founder and former CEO of Mandiant. A former U.S. Air Force computer security officer and special agent, he built a career in digital forensics, incident response and cybersecurity company leadership. Mandiant published the APT1 report in 2013; under his leadership, FireEye helped uncover the SolarWinds campaign in 2020. Google acquired Mandiant in 2022, and Amazon elected Mandia to its board in September 2026.

- **Role:** Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Armadin; Co-founder and General Partner at Ballistic Ventures
- **Organizations:** Armadin, Ballistic Ventures, Amazon, Mandiant, FireEye, United States Air Force, Foundstone, Sytex, SpecterOps, Expel, Lafayette College, Institute for the Study of War
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BS, Computer Science, Lafayette College, MS, Forensic Science, The George Washington University, Owner/President Management Program (executive education), Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Founded Mandiant in 2004., Led FireEye and Mandiant as CEO through the Google acquisition., Mandiant’s 2013 APT1 report documented 141 victims and released more than 3,000 indicators.

## Career timeline

- **1992** — Graduated from Lafayette College and began U.S. Air Force service.
- **1993** — Worked in computer security at the Pentagon; later became an AFOSI special agent.
- **1998** — Left the Air Force and continued security work in the private sector.
- **2000** — Joined Foundstone, where he led computer forensics work.
- **2004** — Founded Mandiant, initially called Red Cliff Consulting.
- **2013** — Mandiant released the APT1 report; FireEye acquired Mandiant in December.
- **2015** — Became President of FireEye.
- **2016** — Became CEO of FireEye in June.
- **2020** — Led FireEye during its breach disclosure and the SolarWinds investigation.
- **2021** — Co-founded Ballistic Ventures; FireEye divested its product business and the remaining company became Mandiant.
- **2022** — Google completed its approximately $5.4 billion acquisition of Mandiant.
- **2024** — Became a Ballistic Ventures general partner in June and transitioned from Mandiant leadership.
- **2025** — Began serving as CEO of Armadin in September, according to Amazon’s director biography.
- **2026** — Armadin publicly launched in March; elected to Amazon’s board in September; Armadin announced Series B funding in October.

## Achievements

- Founded Mandiant in 2004.
- Led FireEye and Mandiant as CEO through the Google acquisition.
- Mandiant’s 2013 APT1 report documented 141 victims and released more than 3,000 indicators.
- Led FireEye during the investigation that helped expose the SolarWinds compromise.
- Received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Lafayette College in 2014.
- Co-founded Ballistic Ventures and became a general partner in 2024.
- Elected to Amazon’s board on September 8, 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Armadin announced $255.5 million in Series B financing on October 1, bringing reported total funding to $445 million.
- **2026-09** — Amazon elected Mandia to its board on September 8; he serves on the audit and security committees.
- **2026-03** — Armadin publicly launched with $189.9 million in combined seed and Series A funding.

## Links

- Website: https://ballisticventures.com/team/kevin-mandia/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-mandia-0a07173/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kevin-mandia
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-09