Kai Appoints Alfredo Hickman as CISO to Usher in the Future of AI-Driven Security

Veteran security leader joins Kai to scale its security program

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Kai, the company behind the first agentic AI cybersecurity platform designed to execute security work end-to-end at machine speed with human expert accuracy, today announced the appointment of Alfredo Hickman as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Hickman joins Kai at a pivotal moment for both the company and the industry, as enterprises confront an AI-driven threat landscape that has outpaced the capabilities of human-scale security operations.

Hickman brings nearly 20 years of cybersecurity leadership experience spanning the private sector, national security, and military service. Most recently he served as the CISO at Obsidian Security, where he helped build the company's security organization from day zero, scaling it into a mature, enterprise-grade program supporting the company's rapid growth. Prior to Obsidian, he led security product engineering at Rackspace Managed Security, where he helped build a global managed security services business and architected offerings including managed detection and response in partnership with AWS, Microsoft, and Google. Earlier in his career, Hickman served in roles at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the U.S. Department of Defense, founded the cybersecurity consultancy SystemsSec, and served as an infantry sergeant in the United States Marine Corps.

"Attackers are leveraging AI to move at machine speed, while most security teams are still buried under manual workflows, fragmented tools, and overwhelming noise," said Hickman. "I've experienced those pressures firsthand. AI can fundamentally transform how security works, but only if it's applied in a way that truly understands the practitioner's reality. That's why I'm joining Kai."

In this role, Hickman will oversee the security of Kai's systems and data while strengthening customer trust as the company scales. He will lead the development of a security program designed for the machine-speed era and operate Kai's agentic AI platform within the company's own environment, helping shape, stress-test, and mature it in real time. Hickman will play a central role in advancing Kai's mission to redefine how security work gets done.

"Alfredo represents the next generation of security leadership, which is deeply technical, mission-driven, and unafraid to rethink assumptions," said Galina Antova, co-founder and CEO of Kai. "He brings a proven track record of building world-class security programs and the expertise to help shape the future of AI-driven security from the inside. His decision to join is a powerful endorsement of what we're building."

Hickman's appointment follows Kai's recent emergence from stealth with $125 million in funding and rapid adoption across Fortune 500 organizations. Built and led by PhD- and postdoctoral-level AI researchers alongside category-defining operators at the forefront of the latest generative AI wave, Kai is redefining how security work gets done. As the company scales, his leadership will be instrumental in ensuring Kai not only transforms security for customers but exemplifies that transformation internally.

To learn more or schedule a demo, visit kai.security.

About Kai    
Kai is the AI company rebuilding cybersecurity for the machine-speed era. Founded by the creators of category-defining companies Claroty and SecurityMatters, and trusted by Fortune 500 enterprises, Kai is building a future where security has no categories, no silos, and no human-speed bottlenecks. The Kai Agentic AI Platform replaces fragmented, human-limited workflows with agentic AI systems that continuously contextualize, assess, reason, and execute security work at machine speed - making human defenders superhuman.

SOURCE Kai