Cardinal Health vs Cloudflare: Founders, CEOs and History
Cardinal Health was founded in 1971 by Robert D. Walter and is led by Jason M. Hollar. Cloudflare was founded in 2009 by Matthew Prince, Michelle Zatlyn, Lee Holloway and is led by Matthew Prince.
Company facts
Cardinal Health
- Founded
- 1971
- Headquarters
- Dublin, Ohio, United States
- Current CEO
- Jason M. Hollar
- Employees
- 63,900
Cloudflare
- Founded
- 2009
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California
- Current CEO
- Matthew Prince
- Employees
- 5,156
Founders
Cardinal Health
Robert D. Walter
Cardinal Health possesses a unique and unexpected founding history: the pharmaceutical distributor was not founded by a doctor or a pharmacist, but rather by an ambitious entrepreneur attempting to consolidate the wholesale food industry.
Cloudflare
Matthew Prince
Matthew Prince is Cloudflare's co-founder, CEO, and board chair. In 2004 he and Lee Holloway built Project Honey Pot, which let website owners track spammers harvesting email addresses but could not stop them.
Michelle Zatlyn
Michelle Zatlyn is Cloudflare's co-founder, President, and Chief Operating Officer, and a member of its board. She met Matthew Prince at Harvard Business School, where the two developed the business plan that became Cloudflare in 2009.
Lee Holloway
Lee Holloway co-founded Cloudflare in 2009 and was its first lead engineer and systems architect. He had earlier built Project Honey Pot with Matthew Prince starting in 2004, and he designed much of Cloudflare's early software infrastructure.
CEOs and their tenures
Cardinal Health
- Robert D. Walter1971–2006
Founder, Chairman, and CEO
Walter founded Cardinal Health in 1971 as a food wholesaler and pivoted to pharmaceutical distribution in 1979. He executed dozens of acquisitions that transformed the company from a small regional distributor into a $50+ billion healthcare conglomerate.
Source - Kerry Clark2006–2009
Chairman and CEO
Clark led Cardinal Health through a period of strategic repositioning, including the spin-off of the CareFusion medical technology business. He focused on improving operational efficiency and addressing the challenges of the post-Walter era.
Source - George Barrett2009–2017
Chairman and CEO
Barrett led Cardinal Health through significant strategic initiatives including the acquisition of the Patient Recovery business from Medtronic ($6.1 billion) and the establishment of the Red Oak Sourcing joint venture with CVS Health.
Source - Mike Kaufmann2018–2022
CEO
Kaufmann led Cardinal Health through the opioid litigation settlement and the COVID-19 pandemic, which created demand for medical supplies and pharmaceuticals. He focused on operational execution and maintaining supply chain continuity during the crisis.
Source - Jason M. Hollar2022–present
CEO
Hollar joined Cardinal Health as CFO in 2020 and became CEO in September 2022. He has led the company through the OptumRx contract exit, the GMPD improvement plan, and acquisitions including GI Alliance, ADSG, and Solaris Health.
Source
Cloudflare
- Matthew Prince2009–present
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chair
Co-founded Cloudflare in 2009, led it through its September 2019 NYSE IPO, and has grown annual revenue past $2 billion (2025) while expanding from web security into Zero Trust, developer, and AI services.
Source - Michelle Zatlyn2009–present
Co-Founder, President, and Chief Operating Officer
Co-founded Cloudflare in 2009 with Matthew Prince and Lee Holloway and, as President and COO, has led operations and company-building as Cloudflare scaled to more than 5,000 employees.
Source - Thomas Seifert2017–present
Chief Financial Officer
As CFO, he consistently delivered high revenue growth while carefully controlling capital expenditures, allowing Cloudflare to heavily invest in its serverless Edge computing network.
Source
Timeline: Cardinal Health and Cloudflare side by side
1971Cardinal Health
Cardinal Foods Founded by Robert D. Walter
Robert D. Walter, a 26-year-old Harvard MBA graduate, borrowed $1.3 million to acquire the food-distribution division of Consolidated Foods in a leveraged buyout, establishing Cardinal Foods in Columbus, Ohio.
1979Cardinal Health
Pivot to Pharmaceutical Distribution
Walter acquired Bailey Drug Co., a pharmaceutical distributor in Zanesville, Ohio, marking Cardinal's entry into pharmaceutical distribution.
1983Cardinal Health
Cardinal Distribution Goes Public
Cardinal Distribution Inc. completed its initial public offering on the NASDAQ at $1.03 per share, providing capital for continued expansion through acquisitions.
1984Cardinal Health
Acquisition of Ellicott Drug
Cardinal acquired Ellicott Drug, a pharmaceutical distributor in Buffalo, New York, continuing the acquisition-driven expansion strategy that would define the company's growth for decades.
1988Cardinal Health
Sale of Food Operations to Roundy's Inc.
Cardinal sold its remaining food operations to Roundy's Inc., completing the company's transition from a diversified food and drug distributor to a pure-play pharmaceutical distribution company.
1994Cardinal Health
Name Change to Cardinal Health
The company changed its name from Cardinal Distribution to Cardinal Health, reflecting its expanding mission beyond pure distribution into healthcare services, manufacturing, and technology. Revenues exceeded $1 billion by 1991.
1995Cardinal Health
Acquisition of Medicine Shoppe International
Cardinal acquired Medicine Shoppe International, the country's largest franchise of retail pharmacies, marking the company's first significant non-distribution acquisition and entry into retail pharmacy.
1996Cardinal Health
Acquisition of Pyxis Corp.
Cardinal acquired Pyxis Corp., a manufacturer of automated supply and pharmaceutical dispensing systems for hospitals, adding medical technology capabilities to the company's portfolio.
1999Cardinal Health
Acquisition of Allegiance Healthcare Corp.
Cardinal acquired Allegiance Healthcare Corp. for approximately $4.4 billion, becoming a major player in the medical-surgical products market and establishing the foundation for what would become the Global Medical Products and Distribution segment.
2009Cloudflare
Cloudflare Founded
Matthew Prince, Michelle Zatlyn, and Lee Holloway founded Cloudflare, building on the Project Honey Pot spam-tracking project.
2010Cloudflare
TechCrunch Disrupt Launch
Cloudflare launched publicly at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco in September 2010, offering free website protection and acceleration.
2013Cardinal Health
Red Oak Sourcing Joint Venture with CVS
Cardinal Health and CVS Caremark announced the creation of Red Oak Sourcing, a 50/50 joint venture to form the largest generic pharmaceutical sourcing entity in the United States. The venture began operations in July 2014 with an initial 10-year term.
2014Cardinal Health
Loss of Walgreens Contract
Cardinal Health lost a major pharmaceutical distribution contract with Walgreens, which shifted its distribution to AmerisourceBergen. The contract had generated $3.3 billion in quarterly revenue.
2014Cloudflare
Universal SSL and Project Galileo
Cloudflare gave free SSL certificates to all customers with Universal SSL and launched Project Galileo to protect at-risk nonprofits and journalists for free.
2017Cardinal Health
Acquisition of Patient Recovery Business from Medtronic
Cardinal Health acquired the Patient Recovery business from Medtronic for $6.1 billion, expanding its medical products portfolio and adding significant scale to the Global Medical Products and Distribution segment.
2017Cloudflare
Cloudflare Workers Announced
Cloudflare introduced Workers, a serverless platform built on V8 isolates that lets developers run code across its network.
2019Cloudflare
NYSE IPO
Cloudflare completed its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker NET in September 2019 at $15 per share, raising about $525 million.
2020Cloudflare
Cloudflare One Launched
Cloudflare bundled its Zero Trust access, secure web gateway, and network services into Cloudflare One, its SASE platform.
2022Cloudflare
Area 1 Security and R2 General Availability
Cloudflare acquired email security company Area 1 Security for about $162 million and made R2 zero-egress object storage generally available.
2024Cardinal Health
OptumRx Contract Non-Renewal Announced
Cardinal Health's pharmaceutical distribution contracts with OptumRx (part of UnitedHealth Group) expired at the end of June 2024 and were not renewed. They represented about $38.1 billion of fiscal 2024 revenue.
2024Cloudflare
Revenue Reaches $1.67 Billion
Cloudflare reported 2024 revenue of $1.67 billion and free cash flow of $166.9 million.
2025Cardinal Health
Fiscal 2025 Results and Raised FY2026 Guidance
Cardinal Health reported fiscal 2025 revenue of $222.6 billion, down about 2% after the OptumRx contract expiration, while net earnings rose to about $1.6 billion.
2025Cloudflare
Revenue Passes $2 Billion
Cloudflare reported 2025 revenue of $2.17 billion (+29.8%) and closed its largest contract ever, averaging $42.5 million per year in ACV.
2026Cardinal Health
Fiscal 2026 Revenue Reaches $254.2 Billion
Fiscal 2026 revenue rose 14% to $254.2 billion and non-GAAP EPS rose 37% to $11.26, with profit growth in all five operating segments.
2026Cloudflare
VoidZero Acquisition and Growth Acceleration
Cloudflare acquired VoidZero, the company behind the Vite JavaScript tooling ecosystem, in June 2026 and reported Q2 2026 revenue growth of 36%.
Acquisitions
Cardinal Health
- Advanced Diabetes Supply Group (ADSG)2025$1.1B
- Solaris Health (via The Specialty Alliance)2025$1.9B
- Integrated Oncology Network (ION)2024Undisclosed
- GI Alliance (71% stake)2024$2.8B
- Patient Recovery Business from Medtronic2017$6.1B
- Allegiance Healthcare Corp.1999Undisclosed
Cloudflare
- Human Native2026Undisclosed
- Astro Technology Company2026Undisclosed
- VoidZero2026Undisclosed
- Replicate2025Undisclosed
- Nefeli Networks2024Undisclosed
- Baselime2024Undisclosed
Questions about Cardinal Health vs Cloudflare
Who is the CEO of Cardinal Health, Inc. and Cloudflare, Inc.?
Cardinal Health, Inc. is led by Jason M. Hollar and Cloudflare, Inc. is led by Matthew Prince. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Cardinal Health, Inc. founded vs Cloudflare, Inc.?
Cardinal Health, Inc. was founded in 1971 — 38 years before Cloudflare, Inc., which was founded in 2009. Cardinal Health, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Cloudflare, Inc..
How many employees does Cardinal Health, Inc. have compared to Cloudflare, Inc.?
Cardinal Health, Inc. employs approximately 63,900 people, while Cloudflare, Inc. employs approximately 5,156. Cardinal Health, Inc. has the larger workforce at 63,900 employees, compared to Cloudflare, Inc.'s 5,156. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Cardinal Health, Inc. and Cloudflare, Inc. headquartered?
Both Cardinal Health, Inc. and Cloudflare, Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Cardinal Health, Inc. and Cloudflare, Inc.?
Cardinal Health, Inc. was founded by Robert D. Walter. Cloudflare, Inc. was founded by Matthew Prince, Michelle Zatlyn, Lee Holloway.
Which company has a longer operating history — Cardinal Health, Inc. or Cloudflare, Inc.?
Cardinal Health, Inc. has been operating for approximately 55 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Cloudflare, Inc. has been in operation for around 17 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Cardinal Health vs Cloudflare overview