About Axiad

Trusted, Proven Authentication

Years of experience delivering authentication solutions makes Axiad an ideal cybersecurity partner

Learn more

Our Story

Delivering Long-Term Value

Axiad was founded by a team of industry experts with extensive backgrounds in developing, deploying, and managing authentication and cybersecurity solutions for organizations around the globe.

This expertise is a crucial element in helping ensure we deliver value for our customers. In fact, this attribute is such a core part of our identity that we based our name on the ancient Greek word (Axia) for value.

Today, with more than 10 years of experience delivering authentication solutions for some of the largest and most-demanding organizations in the world, we are regularly honored for our innovation, ability to scale, and market leadership.

Company Leadership

Deep Cybersecurity Expertise

David Canellos

Chief Executive Officer

See bio
David Canellos

Chief Executive Officer
David is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of leadership experience helping cybersecurity technology vendors transform and scale. Prior to Axiad, Canellos was President and CEO of Ericom Software, a SaaS provider of security service edge solutions, which was acquired by Ericsson. He has also served as President and CEO of Perspecsys, Inc. (which was bought by Blue Coat Systems and then by Symantec), as well as President of Cloakware Corporation, a provider of digital platform cybersecurity.
Yves Audebert

Chairperson of the Board

See bio
Yves Audebert

Chairperson of the Board
With more than 25 years of experience in secure identity solutions and multi-factor authentication, Yves is both a visionary and hands-on entrepreneur. He has a long track record of patented innovations and executive experience in building and leading worldwide organizations. Before Axiad, Yves co-founded ActivCard (renamed ActivIdentity). From its creation to November 2008, Yves led the company in multiple executive positions including chairman of the board and CEO.
Bassam Al-Khalidi

Chief Innovation Officer

See bio
Bassam Al-Khalidi

Chief Innovation Officer
Bassam has over 15 years of experience in designing and deploying identity and access management solutions across large government, enterprise, and healthcare organizations. He is a leading expert in CAC/PIV smart card and PKI deployment, and has been involved in multiple enterprise-class ID badge deployments over the last several years. He has held a variety of management and senior technical roles for established industry leaders, including ActivIdentity.
Alex Au Yeung

Chief Product Officer

See bio
Alex Au Yeung

Chief Product Officer
Alex has over two decades of experience in product management & software engineering, spanning consumer to large enterprise markets. Most recently, he served as the Chief Product Officer of Symantec, where he was responsible for delivering cutting-edge solutions that protect data, devices, and networks from cyber threats. Prior to Symantec, he held various product leadership positions at Qualys and Dell.
John Babbidge

Chief Technology Officer

See bio
John Babbidge

Chief Technology Officer
John is a recognized expert in identity and access management with over 20 years of experience driving architectural and technical strategies for organizations in the security space. Prior to joining Axiad, he served as vice president of engineering at Identiv, where he led the evolution of the company’s physical security suite of products, ranging from large-scale enterprise access control services to virtual and embedded access control appliances. John has also held leadership positions at HID Global and ActivIdentity.
Jon Skoglund

Chief Financial Officer

See bio
Jon Skoglund

Chief Financial Officer
A Silicon Valley veteran, Jon has more than 25 years of experience in high-growth public and private companies across various industries including SaaS and cybersecurity.He joined Axiad from Anomali, where he successfully helped build the company infrastructure as it scaled for strategic growth.Jon previously served as CFO at ShareThis and Axcient, to name a few, and has held various progressive financial positions at companies such as Intuitive Surgical, SGI, KPMG, and National Semiconductor. He holds an MBA from Santa Clara University.
Jerome Becquart

SVP, Operations

See bio
Jerome Becquart

SVP, Operations
Jerome has over 20 years of experience in identity and access management solutions, including 15 years at ActivIdentity. Jerome’s management experience includes roles in operational management, sales management, professional services, product and solution marketing, engineering, and technical support. After the acquisition of ActivIdentity by HID Global in 2010, Jerome served as general manager of the HID Identity Assurance business unit.
Ivy Tan

VP, Human Resources

See bio
Ivy Tan

VP, Human Resources
Ivy brings over 18 years of HR experience from various high-tech industries, including the cybersecurity industry at companies such as Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler. Ivy specializes in executing HR strategies by leveraging her proven experience on operational efficiency. Prior to joining Axiad, Ivy has held senior HR leadership roles in both high growth pre-IPO and public companies.
Zahid Johar

VP, Engineering

See bio
Zahid Johar

VP, Engineering
Zahid has more than 15 years of experience in building high-performing cross-functional teams globally. Prior to joining Axiad, he served in various leadership roles in Australia and US, implementing technology and driving change. He has deep experience in building identity and access management solutions, and he has launched services that enable technology partner ecosystems.
Marc Puverel

VP, Customer Success

See bio
Marc Puverel

VP, Customer Success
Coming soon!
Sergey Starzhinskiy

VP, Systems Engineering

See bio
Sergey Starzhinskiy

VP, Systems Engineering
IT professional with 17+ years of proven track record in Cyber Security and Telco fields in many customer-facing technical roles. Prior to joining Axiad led technical pre-sales at Ericom/Cradlepoint for SWG, RBI, DLP, CASB products in North America. Before Ericom, Sergey was a global security SA at F5 helping customers solve problems in Web App and API Security space.