Robert Blumofe

About Robert Blumofe

Robert Blumofe is Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Akamai Technologies, a role he has held since March 2021. He joined Akamai in 1999, previously serving as EVP – Platform and GM of the Enterprise Division (2016–2021) and EVP – Platform (2013–2016); earlier, he led the performance team and helped develop the Akamai Intelligent Edge Platform. Before Akamai, he was an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin and is widely published in algorithms and systems for highly distributed and parallel computing. He is 60 years old as of March 1, 2025, and has more than 24 years at Akamai and 4+ years in the CTO role . Company performance during his senior technology leadership tenure includes revenue of $3.99 billion in 2024 (+5% YoY), operating cash flow of $1.52 billion, and strategic growth in security (+16% YoY to >$2B) and compute (+25% YoY to >$630M). Shares rose 40% in 2023, outperforming the S&P 500 (+24%) and trailing the Nasdaq Composite (+43%). Relative TSR for the 2022–2024 performance period ranked at the 26th percentile (28% payout) .

Past Roles

External Roles

Fixed Compensation

2021 annual incentive result (paid entirely in stock):

• Target bonus %: 80% of salary
• Actual bonus earned: $680,205; paid in shares under the annual incentive plan
• Annual bonus design: 50% revenue (FX-adjusted), 50% non-GAAP operating income, with ±10% ESG modifier; 2021 payout funding 168.4% including ESG .

Performance Compensation

Vesting schedules:

• Time-vesting RSUs: 1/3 annually over 3 years .
• PRSUs and Relative TSR-Based RSUs: earned over three annual performance periods; vest after TL&C Committee certification following the third year (three-year cliff) .

Equity Grants (2021)

Equity Ownership & Alignment

Insider selling pressure mitigants:

• Annual bonuses paid entirely in vested stock, increasing long-term alignment .
• Strict anti-hedging/pledging restrictions .
• Stock ownership requirements with sales restrictions until compliant .

Employment Terms

Key provisions:

• Severance Plan: 1× base salary, 1× target annual bonus, and 12 months of health/dental premiums upon termination without cause (with release) .
• Change-in-control: Double-trigger required; time RSUs accelerate; PRSUs/relative TSR RSUs convert to time-vesting at target if assumed; if not assumed, they accelerate at closing; no excise tax gross-ups .
• Clawbacks: 2014 policy for detrimental conduct and restatements; 2023 policy complies with SEC/Nasdaq requiring recovery of incentive comp after restatements .

Compensation Structure Analysis

• Bonuses paid in stock and heavy use of performance-based equity tie pay to stockholder outcomes; 2021 annual bonus funding at 168.4% reflected strong revenue and non-GAAP profitability, with ESG modifier reinforcing culture objectives .
• Mix shift toward relative TSR awards increased to 30% of LTIs starting in 2023, heightening external performance alignment; PRSU structure uses annual targets within a multi-year vesting to balance planning uncertainty with long-term accountability .
• Governance best practices include double-trigger change-in-control, anti-hedging/pledging, clawbacks, and increased ownership requirements to 3× salary in 2024, improving alignment and reducing risk of shareholder-unfriendly behaviors .

Performance & Track Record

• Akamai revenue grew to $3.99B in 2024 (+5% YoY) with security surpassing $2B (+16% YoY) and compute >$630M (+25% YoY); operating cash flow reached $1.52B (38% of revenue). The company repurchased $557M of stock in 2024 (5.6M shares), and has reduced shares outstanding ~16% since 2013 .
• Strategic transformation accelerated in 2023 with Connected Cloud launch and migrations that reduced third-party cloud spending; 2023 revenue was $3.8B and shares rose 40% (vs S&P 500 +24%, Nasdaq +43%) .
• Under the 2022–2024 TSR cycle, Akamai’s relative TSR ranked in the 26th percentile (28% payout), underscoring market-relative performance volatility amidst industry cycles .

Compensation Peer Group & Say-on-Pay

• Benchmarking peer group updated for 2025 to reflect Akamai’s operations and size, adding Cloudflare, Open Text, Twilio, and Zscaler; design reference peer group includes larger tech platforms for program design guidance .
• Target total direct compensation generally calibrated to ~50th percentile of peer group, adjusted for role, performance, and retention considerations .
• Say-on-Pay support remained strong: ~92% in 2024 and ~88% in 2023 .

Investment Implications

• Alignment: Pay predominantly at-risk and equity-based (PRSUs, TSR RSUs, stock bonuses), with strengthened clawbacks and ownership guidelines; anti-hedging/pledging reduces misalignment risk .
• Retention: Standard 1× salary and bonus severance with double-trigger equity acceleration provides baseline protection; multi-year vesting across PRSU/TSR cycles encourages retention through certification dates .
• Trading signals: 2022–2024 TSR payout at 28% and 2021 TSR payout at 69% may temper LT equity vesting where market underperforms peers, while operational bonuses funded by revenue/profit suggest internal KPIs remain in focus. Monitor Form 4 activity and PRSU/TSR vesting schedules for supply dynamics around certification dates .
• Execution risk: Transformation to security/compute is progressing (revenue mix shift, OCF strength), but relative TSR volatility highlights market-relative execution and multiple compression risks; compensation metrics remain tied to revenue and non-GAAP profitability to reinforce operational discipline .