Eric Hahn

Eric Hahn founded Proofpoint in June 2002 to pioneer the application of machine-learning algorithms to email security and spam classification. Hahn previously served as Chief Technology Officer at Novell and executive vice president at Netscape Communications following Netscape's acquisition of his groupware company, Collabra Software. An active technology investor through the Inventures Group, Hahn recognized early that signature-based antispam tools were incapable of defending against modern polymorphic threats. He served as Proofpoint's initial CEO and then served as Chairman of the Board of Directors through its 2012 NASDAQ IPO until its 2021 acquisition by Thoma Bravo.