Cambridge, MA USA | March 05, 2019
Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) chief executive officer, Dr. Tom Leighton, was awarded with 2019 SC Awards’ first ever Visionary award. The award was presented Tuesday, March 5, during the 23rd annual SC Awards gala in San Francisco, presented by SC Media. As part of SC Media’s year-long celebration of its 30th anniversary in the cybersecurity industry, the annual SC Awards were expanded to include several special categories. Chosen by the media company’s editorial team, the Visionaries of the Last 30 Years category honors those who have shaped the industry and will serve to impact the future.
“When Dr. Tom Leighton, CEO and co-founder, Akamai Technologies, first started on his journey in the early 1990s the internet was a far different animal from what is available today,” SC Magazine wrote. “He was there at MIT when he and Tim Berners-Lee watched the nascent World Wide Web start to become overwhelmed. So Tom’s ideas for content distribution and cloud industries helped set the table for what we have today.”
Dr. Leighton co-founded Akamai Technologies in 1998 and served as its chief scientist until he became CEO in 2013. Under Dr. Leighton’s leadership, Akamai has evolved from its origins as a Content Delivery Network (CDN) into one of the most essential and trusted cloud delivery and cybersecurity platforms, upon which many of the world’s best brands and enterprises build and secure their digital experiences. During his initial six years as CEO, Akamai’s revenue has nearly doubled, growing from less than $1.4 billion in 2012 to more than $2.7 billion in 2018. Over the same time, revenue from Akamai’s security business has grown from less than $25 million in 2012 to more than $658 million (or 24 percent of total revenue) in 2018.
Akamai’s Kona Site Defender was awarded the Excellence Award in the Best Web Application Solution category. It is a robust and flexible application and API security solution that is designed to protect digital businesses from DDoS and web application attacks.
The SC Awards are recognized throughout the cybersecurity industry and are the crowning achievement for IT security professionals and products. Each year, hundreds of applications are reviewed and narrowed down to a select group of finalists that represent the best solutions and services and the professionals working around the clock to protect today’s businesses from an ever-changing landscape of security threats. For more information and a detailed list of categories, finalists and winners, please visit https://scawardsus.com/.
About SC Media
SC Media is cybersecurity. For over 30 years, they have armed information security professionals with in-depth and unbiased information through timely news, comprehensive analysis, cutting-edge features, contributions from thought leaders, and independent product reviews in partnership with and for top-level information security executives and their technical teams.
In addition to their comprehensive website, SC Media offers magazines, ebooks, and newsletters. They also host digital and live events such as SC Awards and RiskSec Conference to provide cybersecurity professionals all the information needed to safeguard their organizations and contribute to their longevity and success.
About Akamai
Akamai powers and protects life online. Leading companies worldwide choose Akamai to build, deliver, and secure their digital experiences — helping billions of people live, work, and play every day. Akamai Connected Cloud, a massively distributed edge and cloud platform, puts apps and experiences closer to users and keeps threats farther away. Learn more about Akamai’s cloud computing, security, and content delivery solutions at akamai.com and akamai.com/blog, or follow Akamai Technologies on X, formerly Twitter, and LinkedIn.
