G eorge Kurtz is an American self-made billionaire and a leading figure in the cybersecurity industry. He is the co-founder and CEO of CrowdStrike, a pioneering cybersecurity technology firm. With a background as a security expert and author, he was formerly the Chief Technology Officer at the major security software company McAfee.
He co-founded CrowdStrike in 2011 with the vision of creating a new, cloud-native platform for endpoint security that could more effectively combat modern cyberattacks. The company's Falcon platform uses artificial intelligence and a single, lightweight agent to protect laptops, servers, and other endpoints from breaches. As CEO, Kurtz has led the company through a period of explosive growth. He took CrowdStrike public in a highly successful IPO in 2019, and its platform has become a leader in the cybersecurity industry, making him one of the wealthiest people in the sector. He is also an accomplished amateur race car driver.
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George Kurtz is an American businessman, the self-made billionaire CEO and co-founder of CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD), a global leader in next-generation endpoint protection and cybersecurity. His career is rooted in financial and security expertise: he began his career as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) at Price Waterhouse.
His career pivoted to security in 1993 at Price Waterhouse, where he became a pioneer in penetration testing (finding network vulnerabilities). He is also the co-author of the best-selling security book of all time, Hacking Exposed. This blend of financial discipline, security expertise, and technical writing defined his entrepreneurial path, which focused on solving the structural inefficiencies of traditional antivirus software.
George Kurtz's entrepreneurial journey includes two major ventures. 1999: Foundstone. He founded Foundstone to offer both cybersecurity products and services, pioneering the category of vulnerability management and professional training. He successfully sold Foundstone to McAfee in 2004.
2011: CrowdStrike. After serving as Worldwide Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at McAfee (where he led the response to major cyber incidents like Operation Aurora), Kurtz left to co-found CrowdStrike in 2011. His vision was revolutionary: create a cloud-native cybersecurity company with a single lightweight agent that leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) for real-time protection—a fundamental shift from legacy antivirus systems. CrowdStrike has become a dominant market leader, achieving a massive multi-billion dollar valuation and executing its successful IPO on the NASDAQ in 2019. His success is a testament to the profitability of dominating the advanced cybersecurity sector.
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Begins specializing in penetration testing at Price Waterhouse (Career Pivot).
Founds Foundstone (Founding 1); co-authors Hacking Exposed (Literary Milestone).
McAfee acquires Foundstone; Kurtz becomes a Senior VP (Major Exit 1).
Resigns from McAfee; co-founds CrowdStrike (Founding 2).
CrowdStrike executes its successful IPO on the NASDAQ (Financial Milestone).
Continues as CEO, guiding the cloud security giant (Executive Leadership).
George Kurtz's wealth is concentrated in his founding equity and continued executive leadership of the publicly traded cybersecurity giant, CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD).
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George Kurtz's social impact is structural, stemming from CrowdStrike's role in protecting global corporations, governments, and critical infrastructure from cyber threats. His company's technology is essential to modern digital security. His work through his books and training established global standards for cybersecurity professionals.
His personal philanthropy supports various educational and community initiatives. His structural contribution is the successful transformation of enterprise security for the cloud era, leading to a massive increase in the efficiency and reliability of corporate defenses.
George Kurtz maintains the professional, composed style of a cybersecurity executive. His attire is consistently formal and high-quality, favoring tailored suits. His aesthetic is one of serious authority and technical expertise, reflecting his CPA and CTO background.
His luxury is the immense security and financial reward derived from his multi-billion dollar fortune. His life is dedicated to leading the global fight against cybercrime and his commitment to AI-driven, cloud-native technology innovation.
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“We were created as a different kind of cybersecurity company—cloud-native and threat-focused.”
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+4.14% | +$1.42B
-0% | -$0.02M
This profile is compiled from verified biographical and financial records:
All information is cross-referenced with public sources for accuracy; some narrative sections are AI-assisted summaries.
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