Code42 appoints Joe Payne as President and CEO

Code42 has hired Joe Payne, a proven software-as-a-service (SaaS) executive, as president and chief executive officer (CEO). Payne’s priorities include leading Code42 into the next stage of growth and building on the strength of Code42’s market-leading data protection products to capture part of the $75 billion market opportunity in IT security, forensics and security analytics.

With a successful track record as CEO of high-growth software companies, Payne joins Code42 from his most recent role as chairman and CEO of Eloqua. During his six-year tenure at the company, he assembled and led the executive team that grew Eloqua from $11 million to $125 million in revenue, and managed the company’s IPO in 2012 and sale to Oracle in 2013.

“It’s an exciting time to join Code42 amid impressive growth and global, enterprise customer traction, all of which is rooted in solid underpinnings: an exceptional product offering and a customer-first approach,” said Payne. “I look forward to partnering with the Code42 team during this next stage of growth, fueled by the tremendous opportunity in the endpoint data protection and security market.”

Payne’s appointment follows a year of strong momentum for the company. In 2014, Code42 doubled its enterprise SaaS revenue, adding more than 150 enterprise customers to its roster, which includes Lockheed Martin, Grant Thornton, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), HBO and Fossil. Earlier this year, Code42 was named for the third time as one of Forbes’ “Most Promising Companies in America.” Code42’s customer-first mindset—resulting in a 97 percent customer satisfaction rate and 98 percent customer retention rate—has also received national recognition, including a Customer Experience Excellence award from Gartner and 1to1 Media.

“Over the past few years, we have accelerated our enterprise focus, built an incredible array of technology, recruited top talent and secured an enviable roster of G2000 customers,” said Matthew Dornquast, co-founder and former CEO, Code42. “We’ve successfully captured market leadership in enterprise endpoint data protection; as Joe joins, Code42 is in a strong position to expand its offering in data security. Joe is the right person to lead Code42 through its next big wave of growth.”

As more than 37,000 business customers around the world trust Code42 with their most precious resource—their data—the company has expanded its reach into data security. According to a recent 451 Research report, endpoint security is the largest single category in IT’s budget for the next three years.A recent Code42 customer survey revealed that enterprise customers are already using the Code42 platform to address security needs: 34 percent of respondents said they use it to identify which data existed on a lost or stolen device, while 25 percent said they use it to recover from ransomware.
Payne has been instrumental in building technology brands and managing teams through high-growth periods, ranging from startups to established global brands. Prior to Eloqua, he held executive positions at iDefense, e-Security, eGrail, MicroStrategy and InteliData. Currently, he serves on the board of directors for public companies Cornerstone OnDemand and Dealertrack, and private companies Plex Systems and TrackMaven. He also serves on the board of the nonprofit organization First Focus Campaign for Children.