Twilio has hired a former video game executive, Nils Puhlmann, as its chief trust and security officer.
Puhlmann, who earlier headed security at gaming companies Electronic Arts and Zynga, struck up a relationship with Twilio as an external advisor in 2014. The tech firm provides communications tools that help companies communicate with customers via text messages, phone calls and other means.
Puhlmann started in the new C-suite gig last week. He had been serving as Twilio’s interim security chief since the fall, amid the departure of Richard Seiersen, the company’s former chief information security officer and vice president of trust. (Seiersen decamped for LendingClub, a peer-to-peer loan provider.)
Puhlmann plans to help improve the resilience of Twilio’s corporate IT systems as well as those of its clients, he told Fortune on a call.
“The reason we’re calling it ‘trust and security’ is that we’re trying to look at it from a trust point of view,” Puhlmann said. “Most companies think of it as protecting the company, not necessarily the customers—at Twilio we’re trying to be different.”
Prior to joining Twilio, Puhlmann served as chief technology officer of Endgame, a cybersecurity firm. Earlier he held top security roles at Zynga, Qualys, Electronic Arts, and Robert Half International.
Puhlmann is also involved in a number of cybersecurity-related nonprofit organizations. He cofounded the Cloud Security Alliance in 2008, and has served on the international board of directors for ISSA, or Information Systems Security Association.
“Everyday, tens of thousands of businesses rely Twilio’s platform to handle their communication workflows,” said Jeff Lawson, Twilio’s CEO and cofounder. “Being a trusted custodian of this customer data is a top priority for Twilio and we will continue to invest in maintaining that trust.”
Twilio’s stock price has been on a tremendous tear since the beginning of the year, surging nearly 230% to about $77.50 per share. The company’s customers include Airbnb, Netflix, Lyft, Coca-Cola, Nike, and the Red Cross.
