Dive Brief:
- Network and security provider Cloudflare appointed sales veteran Christian Smith as president of revenue last week. Smith comes to Cloudflare from Technology Crossover Ventures, where he advised executive teams as operating partner. He also led global sales and partnerships as CRO of Cisco data analytics subsidiary Splunk.
- “Christian has consistently proven he can lead global go-to-market organizations through periods of rapid expansion with discipline, operational rigor and a steadfast focus on customers,” Matthew Prince, CEO and cofounder at Cloudflare, said in the press release. “He shares our belief in Cloudflare's mission and in the size of the opportunity in front of us. We are excited to have him on board for this next chapter.”
- The leadership change comes after Cloudflare’s fastest revenue growth in nearly four years, per the company’s third quarter earnings. The vendor’s revenue totaled $782.5 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, growing 39% year over year.
Dive Insight:
Smith will lead Cloudflare’s worldwide go-to-market organization, including its global sales and revenue operations, according to the announcement. At Cisco, he implemented a value-driven, customer-centered go-to market strategy.
“I have long admired Cloudflare’s mission, relentless pace of innovation, and the extraordinary product engine,” Smith said in the announcement. “The market opportunity for Cloudflare is massive.”
Cloudflare has amped up its partner focus. Last year, the cybersecurity company bundled and discounted products including its secure access service edge platform and application services to attract partners. This summer, Cloudflare added partner training and funding support, along with access to a database of SASE blueprint configurations and automated workflows.
The company expects total revenue to reach between $845 million to $846 million for the fourth quarter and $2.9 billion for the full fiscal year.
“We have built the development platform for the AI-powered Internet — and as digital threats escalate, organizations of every size continue to rely on Cloudflare for protection,” Prince said in a press release accompanying the third quarter results. “Our engine is firing on all cylinders, and we've found an even higher gear for this next phase of growth.”
