Kerry Acocella
DatadogAbout Kerry Acocella
Kerry Acocella is General Counsel and Secretary of Datadog, Inc., serving as GC since January 2022 after joining Datadog in January 2019 as Chief Corporate Counsel; she is 44 years old and holds a J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and a B.S. in Psychology from The University of Georgia . During her tenure, Datadog delivered FY 2024 revenue of $2.68 billion (+26% YoY) and a 25% non-GAAP operating margin, with a 2024 TSR value of $378 on an initial fixed $100 investment and net income of $183.75 million; say‑on‑pay support was ~95% in 2024, signaling investor alignment with executive pay design . She serves as corporate Secretary of record on multiple SEC filings, including 8‑Ks filed in December 2024 and September 2025 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Datadog, Inc. | Chief Corporate Counsel | Jan 2019 – Dec 2021 | Senior legal leadership prior to GC role |
| Lindblad Expeditions (Nasdaq) | Corporate Counsel | Oct 2017 – Dec 2018 | Public company counsel experience |
| Fifth Street Asset Management (Nasdaq) | Executive Director, Legal & Chief Compliance Officer | Feb 2013 – Oct 2017 | Led legal and compliance for listed asset manager |
| WW International (formerly Weight Watchers) | Legal roles | Not disclosed | Corporate legal experience |
| Morrison & Foerster LLP | Legal roles | Not disclosed | Big‑law experience |
External Roles
No public company directorships or external board roles are disclosed for Acocella in the latest proxy .
Fixed Compensation
Kerry Acocella is an executive officer but is not a named executive officer (NEO) in 2024; the proxy does not disclose her base salary or bonus figures. Datadog’s executive pay framework sets annual base salaries and target bonuses by the compensation committee, benchmarking to a SaaS peer set, with CEO/NEO base salaries at $425,000 in 2024 and target cash bonuses generally at 94% of base; these figures apply to NEOs, not specifically to Acocella . Bonus outcomes for NEOs in 2024 were 93% of target based on net new ARR attainment and a non‑GAAP operating income condition .
Performance Compensation
Datadog’s executive incentive architecture emphasizes “at‑risk” compensation:
| Incentive | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Cash Bonus (exec program) | Net New ARR (decelerators if non‑GAAP Op Inc below target) | 100% to Net New ARR with non‑GAAP Op Inc gate/decelerators | 100% of 2024 operating plan | ~93% of target | ~93% of target bonus for NEOs | Cash; paid annually |
| PSUs (exec program) | Annual revenue growth, with non‑GAAP Op Inc target | 50% of LT equity target value | 2024 revenue target; earning threshold at ≥88% of target | 100.5% of target; 26% YoY growth | 115% of target PSUs earned (NEOs) | Earned shares vest over 4 years (25% initial tranche, then quarterly) |
| RSUs (exec program) | Service‑based | 50% of LT equity target value | N/A | N/A | N/A | Four‑year vesting (25% then quarterly) |
Note: The above incentive design and outcomes are disclosed for NEOs; Kerry Acocella’s specific grant sizes and payouts are not disclosed in the proxy .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Insider trading plan: Acocella modified a Rule 10b5‑1 trading plan on May 30, 2025 covering up to 47,668 Class A shares through December 31, 2025; actual shares sold will be reduced by sell‑to‑cover transactions for tax withholding on RSU/PSU vesting. Based on 319,478,440 Class A shares outstanding on April 9, 2025, the plan’s maximum equals ~0.015% of Class A shares, implying modest potential selling pressure if fully executed .
- Hedging/pledging: Datadog’s insider trading policy prohibits hedging, short sales, margin purchases, derivatives trading, and pledging of company stock, limiting misalignment risks from financial engineering or collateral pledges .
- Section 16 compliance: The company reports all officers/directors satisfied Section 16 filing requirements in 2024, indicating robust compliance controls .
Employment Terms
- Employment status: Datadog’s executive officers are employed at‑will; the loss of executives is cited as a risk factor due to competitive talent markets, implying generic retention risk across key roles including legal .
- Indemnification: Datadog provides indemnification agreements to each director and executive officer and advances expenses, with D&O insurance permitted; Acocella, as GC/Secretary, is covered under these standard protections .
- Exculpation amendment: The April 2025 proxy proposes charter changes to exculpate “covered officers” (including chief legal officers) from monetary liability for breaches of the duty of care in direct claims, not derivative suits; adoption would prospectively reduce certain personal liability risks for officers, aiding retention and litigation risk management .
- Clawback: Incentive compensation for covered executives is subject to recoupment for three prior fiscal years upon accounting restatement per SEC/Nasdaq rules .
- Severance/change‑of‑control: Specific severance and double‑trigger change‑of‑control terms (cash severance, COBRA, and equity vesting for time‑based awards) are disclosed for NEOs; no Kerry‑specific severance terms are disclosed in the proxy .
Company Performance During Acocella’s Tenure
| Metric | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($USD Millions) | $603 | $1,029 | $1,675 | $2,128 | $2,684 |
| Net Income ($USD Millions) | $(24.55) | $(20.75) | $(50.16) | $48.57 | $183.75 |
| TSR value of $100 investment | 261 | 471 | 195 | 321 | 378 |
| Peer Group TSR (Nasdaq Computer Index) | 150 | 207 | 133 | 221 | 301 |
Investment Implications
- Incentive alignment: Executive incentive design ties cash bonuses to net new ARR with profitability gating and PSUs to annual revenue growth with operating discipline; this is supportive of durable growth focus and cash discipline in legal, compliance, and governance support functions led by the GC .
- Selling pressure: Acocella’s 10b5‑1 modification covers a small absolute amount of shares with sell‑to‑cover offsets; at ~0.015% of Class A outstanding, direct technical pressure from her plan is limited near‑term (expires Dec 31, 2025), but it signals planned diversification timing consistent with policy .
- Governance risk buffering: Proposed DGCL officer exculpation and existing indemnification/clawback frameworks reduce litigation and governance friction costs for officers, potentially improving retention and focus; at‑will employment and intense talent competition sustain baseline retention risk across key functions .
- Shareholder alignment: Prohibitions on hedging/pledging and high say‑on‑pay support (~95%) indicate a governance posture and pay design broadly aligned with investors; lack of Kerry‑specific compensation disclosure limits pay‑for‑performance precision for GC benchmarking .