Verkada, a frontrunner in cutting-edge Physical AI solutions, has announced a significant strategic appointment, naming Chris Stori as its new Chief Information Officer (CIO). In this pivotal role, Stori will take the helm of the company’s corporate IT strategy, overseeing business systems and a wide array of technology-driven initiatives crucial for sustaining Verkada’s impressive growth trajectory.
“Chris’ track record reflects the operational rigor and ambition that will define Verkada’s next chapter,” stated Filip Kaliszan, co-founder and CEO of Verkada. Kaliszan emphasized Stori’s critical leadership in their mission to “build the AI-powered operating system for the physical world” as the company continues to heavily invest in AI-powered capabilities and aggressively expand its global footprint.
Stori brings a wealth of executive experience and deep technical expertise to Verkada, joining from Bright Machines, where he served as CEO. His profound understanding of enterprise networking and the intricate integration of hardware and software was meticulously honed during his 11-year tenure at Cisco. There, he held various high-impact leadership roles, most notably as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Networking Experiences. In this capacity, he skillfully managed a multi-billion-dollar portfolio encompassing Enterprise Networking, IoT, and Meraki. A testament to his strategic prowess, Stori was instrumental in scaling Meraki from a modest 18,000 to over 600,000 customers, demonstrating an unparalleled ability to drive significant growth through superior user experiences. Prior to his impactful time at Cisco, Stori provided strategic consulting on international market expansion at McKinsey & Company.
Stori’s appointment coincides with a period of unprecedented success for Verkada, which recently concluded a record-breaking fiscal year. The company reported a robust 30% year-over-year revenue increase and now proudly serves over 31,000 customers globally, including more than 100 of the Fortune 500. This remarkable adoption rate underscores the value Verkada delivers; an impressive 78% of its core customers utilize two or more Verkada product lines, 54% leverage three or more, and the average customer nearly doubles their initial investment within the first 12 months of engagement.
This explosive growth is largely fueled by the escalating demand for proactive, AI-powered physical security solutions that empower organizations to effectively deter threats, optimize operational efficiency, and cultivate safer communities on a global scale. Verkada recently unveiled AI-powered deterrence, a groundbreaking proactive security solution that leverages advanced large vision, audio, and language models to autonomously detect and issue warnings to potential intruders *before* a crime can occur. This innovative capability signifies Verkada’s strategic pivot from conventional passive recording to sophisticated, agentic security intelligence.
Expressing his enthusiasm for the new role, Stori remarked, “Verkada is redefining what’s possible with Physical AI and delivering real-world impact. I am excited to join the team and focus on scaling our global business operations and internal infrastructure to further deepen our impact across industries and markets.”