Shrikrishna Venkataraman
authIDAbout Shrikrishna Venkataraman
Shrikrishna (“Krish”) Venkataraman, 48, is nominated to join authID’s Board at the June 26, 2025 annual meeting; he is a seasoned technology and Wall Street executive with experience as President, CFO, COO/CAO and public/private board member, spanning IPO readiness, enterprise transformations, and IT/cybersecurity governance. He was President of Daitaku (2023–April 2025), CFO of Socure (2022–2023), and Co‑President/CFO of KnowBe4 (2018–2022, and served as a board member for a subsequent year); he holds a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon and an MBA from Cornell’s Johnson School .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daitaku | President | 2023–Apr 2025 | Led AI firm; multi-disciplinary leadership across sales/IT/cyber governance |
| Socure Inc. | Chief Financial Officer | 2022–2023 | CFO scope incl. treasury, controllership, M&A, investor relations |
| KnowBe4 Inc. | Co‑President & CFO; subsequent Board member | 2018–2022; board member for a subsequent year | Led large-scale transformations; human risk management platform experience |
| Dealogic; Lehman Brothers; NYSE Euronext; American Express; Deloitte Consulting | Various leadership roles | Not disclosed | Prior leadership across finance/operations/IT; builds cross-functional governance muscle |
External Roles
| Organization | Position | Public Company? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| KnowBe4 Inc. | Board member (subsequent year after 2018–2022) | Formerly public (Nasdaq: KNBE), then private | Cybersecurity/human risk management board exposure |
No other current public company directorships are disclosed for Venkataraman .
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Not disclosed for Venkataraman in the 2025 nominee slate; committee membership to be designated post‑election .
- Board structure: Standing Audit, Compensation, and Governance Committees; committee chairs indicated in the proxy (“*”), Lead Independent Director is Michael L. Koehneman .
- Independence: authID states four independent directors with all Audit and Compensation members independent, and a majority of Governance independent; independence determinations follow Nasdaq/Rule 10A‑3 criteria and are made by the Board .
- Attendance (context): In 2024, the Board held nine meetings; Audit (4), Compensation (2), Governance (1). Each director attended all Board/committee meetings for their service, except one Board absence by a single director .
| 2024 Meeting Counts | Board | Audit | Compensation | Governance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meetings held | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Fixed Compensation
| Policy Component | Detail |
|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer (non‑employee director) | $8,000, paid quarterly |
| Annual cash retainer (committee chair) | $10,000, paid quarterly |
Context – 2024 actual cash paid to non‑management directors:
| Director | Cash Compensation ($) |
|---|---|
| Michael Koehneman | 10,000 |
| Jacqueline White | 10,000 |
| Michael Thompson | 8,000 |
| Ken Jisser | 8,000 |
| Kunal Mehta | 6,151 |
Venkataraman was not on the Board in 2024; his cash retainer would follow the policy after election .
Performance Compensation
| Equity Component | Detail |
|---|---|
| Annual option grant (non‑employee directors) | Options equivalent to ~$117,000 grant‑date fair value, granted following the Annual Meeting (subject to share authorization under the 2024 Plan) |
| Vesting | Director annual options vest over ~12 months (per 2024 grants); initial grants for newly appointed directors may include multi‑year vesting for part of the award |
| Grant timing/pricing policy | Grants occur in “open window” periods; option exercise price equals the closing market price on grant date |
2024 non‑management director option grant values (context):
| Director | Option Awards ($) |
|---|---|
| Michael Koehneman | 113,559 |
| Jacqueline White | 113,559 |
| Michael Thompson | 113,559 |
| Ken Jisser | 113,559 |
| Kunal Mehta | 200,968 |
Illustrative 2024 director grants (structure):
- Aug 13, 2024: 15,627 options at $8.67 per director (Koehneman, Thompson, Jisser, Mehta, White), vesting over 12 months .
- Mehta initial appointment (May 20, 2024): 13,282 options at $7.78, split into a three‑year annual vesting tranche (12,500) and a three‑month monthly vesting tranche (782) .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Relationship | Nature | Potential Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Shared prior employer (Socure) | Venkataraman (CFO, 2022–2023); CEO Daguro (Chief Revenue Officer, 2018–2022); CPO Soto (VP of Product, 2018–2022) | Professional network overlaps may improve strategic alignment but warrant independence vigilance |
No related‑party transactions are disclosed for Venkataraman. A current Board‑level related‑party commercial agreement exists with The Pipeline Group (founded/led by director Ken Jisser), at $70,000/month in 2024, totaling $994,000 paid in 2024, with $70,000 payable at year‑end; this is a Board‑level oversight consideration (not tied to Venkataraman) .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Multi‑disciplinary leadership: President/CFO/COO/CAO roles with oversight of sales, HR, IT, legal, operations, and cybersecurity governance .
- Cybersecurity exposure: Senior leadership/board service at KnowBe4; finance/controls rigor from Wall Street/NYSE Euronext background .
- Education: B.S. Carnegie Mellon; MBA Cornell Johnson .
Equity Ownership
- Beneficial ownership for Venkataraman is not disclosed in the May 5, 2025 beneficial ownership table (directors/executives and ≥5% holders); he appears only as a 2025 nominee .
Governance Assessment
- Board effectiveness: Venkataraman adds deep finance, operations, and cyber governance expertise at a time when authID is scaling identity/cyber offerings—strengthening audit/strategy oversight capacity .
- Independence: As a non‑employee nominee, independence assessment will follow formal Board determination under Nasdaq/Rule 10A‑3; current Board reports four independent directors and independent Audit/Compensation composition .
- Compensation alignment: Director pay is modest in cash with the majority in equity, aligning incentives with shareholder outcomes; standardized annual option grants and open‑window grant controls reduce timing risk .
- RED FLAGS: None disclosed for Venkataraman (no legal proceedings or related‑party transactions identified); note a Board‑level related‑party commercial agreement (TPG/Jisser) requiring continued rigorous oversight .
- Attendance/engagement: 2024 attendance was strong across existing directors; Venkataraman was not yet serving—future attendance should be monitored post‑election .