# Todd McKinnon

> Todd McKinnon is the co-founder and CEO of Okta, the leading independent identity platform, which he built from a two-person startup in 2009 into a publicly traded company with over 18,000 customers and $2 billion in annual revenue. A former head of engineering at Salesforce, McKinnon saw the cloud shift coming before most and bet his career - and his family's financial security - on the idea that identity would become the new security perimeter. He has led Okta through its 2017 NASDAQ IPO, a $6.5 billion acquisition of Auth0 in 2021, and a high-profile 2022 security breach, emerging from each as a more seasoned, candid, and mission-driven leader.

- **Role:** CEO, Chairperson of the Board, and Co-Founder at Okta
- **Organizations:** Okta, Salesforce, PeopleSoft, Family House (non-profit), Pledge 1%
- **From:** California, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Management and Information Systems, Brigham Young University, M.S. in Computer Science, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
- **Known for:** Co-founded Okta in 2009 - now the world's leading independent identity platform, Led Okta's 2017 NASDAQ IPO, valued at over $2 billion at opening, Grew Okta to 18,000+ customers and $2B+ annual revenue

## Career timeline

- **1995** — Joined PeopleSoft as a software engineer after graduating from Cal Poly
- **2003** — Joined Salesforce.com, becoming head of engineering - grew the team from 15 to 250+ engineers
- **2007** — Promoted to Senior Vice President of Engineering at Salesforce
- **2009** — Left Salesforce to co-found Okta with Frederic Kerrest, during the 2008-2009 financial crisis
- **2012** — Okta raises Series D funding and gains significant enterprise customer traction
- **2017** — Led Okta's IPO on NASDAQ (ticker: OKTA) at $17/share - stock surged on first day
- **2021** — Acquired Auth0 for $6.5 billion, expanding into customer identity market
- **2022** — Navigated high-profile Lapsus$ security breach with public transparency, rebuilding trust
- **2025** — Acquired Israeli startup Axiom Security; positioned Okta as the identity layer for AI agents
- **2026** — Okta reports Q4 FY2026 with 11% revenue growth; McKinnon touts AI agent identity as next growth frontier

## Achievements

- Co-founded Okta in 2009 - now the world's leading independent identity platform
- Led Okta's 2017 NASDAQ IPO, valued at over $2 billion at opening
- Grew Okta to 18,000+ customers and $2B+ annual revenue
- Led the $6.5 billion acquisition of Auth0 (2021), the largest in Okta's history
- Grew Salesforce engineering from 15 to 250+ people and 2M to 150M+ daily transactions
- Maintained Okta's independence as the leading identity provider amid Big Tech competition
- Pioneered the 'identity as the new perimeter' security framework now adopted industry-wide
- Signatory of Pledge 1%, donating equity, product, and employee time to charity
- Supported Family House non-profit providing housing for families of critically ill children

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Okta reports Q4 FY2026 earnings with 11% revenue growth; net income of $63M vs $23M a year ago
- **2025-12** — Okta tops Wall Street Q3 FY2026 estimates; guides Q4 revenue of $748-750M
- **2025-08** — Okta acquires Axiom Security, an Israeli startup for AI-powered data access management
- **2025-08** — Okta reports Q2 FY2026 earnings beating estimates: $728M revenue vs $711.8M expected
- **2026-02** — McKinnon receives 193,860 total performance stock units, reflecting board confidence in leadership

## Links

- Website: https://www.okta.com/company/leadership/todd-mckinnon/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/toddmckinnon
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toddmckinnon/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toddmckinnon/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/todd-mckinnon
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-06