Board of Directors
D. James Bidzos is Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Verisign. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Verisign.
As the founder of Verisign, Mr. Bidzos is an internet and security industry pioneer whose accomplishments include building RSA Security into the early standard-bearer for authentication and encryption, and launching Verisign as a company in 1995 to develop the digital certificate infrastructure for internet commerce. Mr. Bidzos has been either Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Board since the Company’s founding in 1995. Mr. Bidzos’ current tenure as Chairman of the Board dates to August 2007. Mr. Bidzos was appointed Executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Verisign on an interim basis on June 30, 2008. On January 14, 2009, Mr. Bidzos resigned as interim President, and on August 17, 2009, Mr. Bidzos resigned as interim Chief Executive Officer and was reappointed Executive Chairman. On August 1, 2011, Mr. Bidzos was re-appointed President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Bidzos resigned as President on February 11, 2020. Mr. Bidzos served as president and CEO of RSA Security from 1986 to February 1999, and then served as RSA's vice chairman from 1999 to May 2002.
Courtney D. Armstrong has served as a director since June 2021. Mr. Armstrong is currently Chief Operating Officer at Paramount Pictures and Filmed Entertainment Group, a film and television production and distribution company, a position he has held since March 2024. Previously, he served as President of Business Affairs and Administration from October 2021 to March 2024. From April 2014 to October 2021, Mr. Armstrong served as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Business Affairs of Warner Bros. Pictures, a film and entertainment studio, where he oversaw all day-to-day business and legal aspects of worldwide film acquisition, development, production and initial distribution for the studio, including supervising the negotiations of key deals with filmmakers and talent. He joined Warner Bros. Pictures in 2003 as a Director of Business Affairs and was promoted to Vice President in 2004 and Senior Vice President in 2007. Before joining Warner Bros. Pictures, Mr. Armstrong spent three years at Walt Disney Pictures as an attorney in the Business and Legal Affairs department of the Motion Picture Group. Prior to that, Mr. Armstrong began his career as a litigation associate on the entertainment litigation team at the Los Angeles-based law firm Paul Hastings LLP. Mr. Armstrong is a graduate of the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and holds an M.B.A. degree from the Kellogg School of Management. He received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University.
Mr. Armstrong is a business executive with significant expertise in business and legal matters. Mr. Armstrong’s expertise as a business executive includes sales and marketing, financial management, contract negotiation, and distribution, providing him with a perspective that the Board values. Mr. Armstrong’s financial and accounting skills qualify him as an audit committee financial expert.
Dr. Buchalter has served as a director since July 2019. Dr. Buchalter is the Chief Executive Officer of Place Exchange, Inc., a technology company in the digital advertising space, a position he has held since July 2021. From May 2017 to July 2021, Dr. Buchalter served as the Chief Executive Officer of Intersection Holdings, LLC (“Intersection”), a leading smart cities media and technology company. At Intersection, Dr. Buchalter’s responsibilities included leadership of the Infosec Leadership Team, which was responsible for overseeing the company’s security and risk management issues, including data security and privacy issues. From July 2008 to January 2017, Dr. Buchalter served as the Chief Operating Officer and then President of MediaMath, a leading programmatic advertising technology platform. From January 2005 to April 2008, Dr. Buchalter was a Senior Partner at the marketing consultancy and agency Rosetta, where he led the Digital Media & Technology vertical. Prior to that, Dr. Buchalter was an Associate Principal in McKinsey & Company’s Media & Technology practice and a founding member of their Innovation practice. Dr. Buchalter holds a B.S. in Physics from Stanford University, a Ph.D. in Astronomy from Columbia University, and was a postdoctoral fellow in Theoretical Astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology.
Dr. Buchalter is a business executive with significant experience building and leading technology companies. Dr. Buchalter’s expertise as a business executive includes business administration, sales and marketing, product development, engineering, and operations, providing him with a perspective that the Board values.
Ms. Cote has served as a director since February 2008. From May 2001 to June 2003, Ms. Cote served as Chief Executive Officer of Worldport Communications, Inc., a provider of internet managed services. From September 1998 to May 2001, she served as Founder and President of Seagrass Partners, a consulting firm specializing in providing strategic planning, business, operational, and management support for startup and mid-sized technology companies. Prior to that, she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Computervision Corporation, an international supplier of product development and data management software. Ms. Cote served as a director of Western Digital Corporation from January 2001 to November 2021. Ms. Cote holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Massachusetts, an M.B.A. degree from Babson College, and a B.A. degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Ms. Cote is a business executive with significant expertise overseeing global companies in technology and operations in the areas of systems integration, networks, hardware, and software, including web-based applications and internet services. Ms. Cote’s expertise in technology and operations is directly relevant to the Company’s business. Ms. Cote’s expertise as a business executive also includes sales and marketing, product development, strategic planning, and international experience, which contributes important expertise to the Board in those areas of business administration. Ms. Cote’s financial and accounting skills qualify her as an audit committee financial expert. In addition to Ms. Cote’s tenure as a director of the Company, Ms. Cote has served on several other boards of directors, including service on the audit and corporate governance committees of those boards as well as serving as the lead independent director, providing her with valuable board-level experience. Ms. Cote’s executive-level experience includes experience as a Chief Executive Officer, providing her with a perspective that the Board values.
Mr. Frist has served as a director since December 2015. Since April 2019, Mr. Frist has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of HCA Healthcare, Inc. where he has served as a director since 2006. Mr. Frist is the Founder and Managing Principal of Frist Capital, LLC, an investment firm based in Nashville, Tennessee, which he founded in 2002 that makes long-term equity investments in public and private companies. Prior to that, he was the managing member of FS Partners II, LLC and he worked in principal investments at Rainwater, Inc. from 1992 to 1995. Mr. Frist previously served as a director of Science Applications International Corporation from 2013 until 2017. Mr. Frist holds a B.A. degree from Princeton University and an M.B.A. degree from Harvard Business School.
Mr. Frist’s significant directorship experience provides valuable expertise and perspective to the Board. His directorship experience includes having chaired, and served as a member of, various public company board committees. In addition to his significant experience as a public company director, Mr. Frist provides valuable experience in areas of business administration, finance, and operations, which the Board values.
Ms. Gorelick has served as a director since January 2015. Ms. Gorelick has been a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, an international law firm, since July 2003. She has held numerous positions in the U.S. government, serving as Deputy Attorney General of the United States, General Counsel of the Department of Defense, Assistant to the Secretary of Energy, and a member of the bipartisan National Commission on Terrorist Threats Upon the United States. Ms. Gorelick has served as a director of Amazon.com, Inc. since February 2012 and currently serves as Lead Independent Director and is a member of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. She previously served as a director of United Technologies Corporation from February 2000 to December 2014 and a director of Schlumberger Limited from April 2002 to June 2010. She holds B.A. and J.D. degrees from Harvard University.
Ms. Gorelick is an experienced attorney with significant expertise in legal, policy, and corporate matters. Ms. Gorelick’s regulatory and policy experience is directly relevant to the Company’s business. She is well-versed in critical infrastructure and national security issues and brings a valuable skill-set and wealth of government experience to the Board. Ms. Gorelick has served on several other corporate boards, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee, and served on numerous government boards and commissions. Ms. Gorelick’s experience in both the public and private sectors, combined with her experience in the corporate boardroom, provides her valuable board experience, and she offers a perspective the Board values.
Ms. McCann has been Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Unisys Corporation since May 2022. Prior to joining Unisys, Ms. McCann was at Dun & Bradstreet, Inc., a global provider of business decisioning data and analytics, from 2009 until April 2022, where she held roles of increasing responsibility, including as Treasury Director, Assistant Treasurer, and most recently as Treasurer and Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis. Prior to Dun & Bradstreet, Ms. McCann held leadership roles at Cegedim, a technology and services company, and AT&T, Inc., an American multinational telecommunications and technology holding company. Ms. McCann holds an M.B.A. degree from Harvard Business School. She received her undergraduate degree in Finance and International Business from Pennsylvania State University.
Ms. McCann is a business executive with significant expertise within large, public, multinational, technology companies. Ms. McCann’s expertise as a business executive includes financial management, treasury and investor relations, providing her with a perspective that the Board values. Ms. McCann’s financial and accounting skills qualify her as an audit committee financial expert.
Mr. Moore has served as a director since February 2002 and as our Lead Independent Director since February 2022. From December 2007 to May 2009, he served as a consultant assisting our Company in the divestiture of its former Communications Services business. From June 2007 through November 2007, Mr. Moore served as interim Chief Executive Officer and President of Arbinet-thexchange, Inc., a provider of online trading services. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Illuminet Holdings, Inc., a provider of nationwide network and database services, from December 1995 until December 2001 when it was acquired by our Company. Mr. Moore has served as a director of Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. since July 2005 and serves as chair of its Compensation Committee. Mr. Moore holds a B.S. degree in General Science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Mr. Moore is a business executive with significant expertise in general management, sales, technology, cybersecurity, and strategic planning in the telecommunications industry. Mr. Moore’s expertise contributes operational knowledge of important inputs to the Company’s businesses and provides valuable experience in areas of business administration. Mr. Moore also has significant experience, both as a senior executive and as a board member, in joint venture and mergers and acquisition transactions, which is experience that is valuable to the Board. Mr. Moore has experience in military intelligence, including serving two years at the National Security Agency. Mr. Moore has also served on several other boards of directors, including service on the audit, compensation, and corporate governance committees of certain of those boards, providing him with valuable board-level experience. In addition to the several years of business management experience mentioned above, Mr. Moore has international business experience from his time as President of Nortel Japan and as President of AT&T Canada.
Mr. Tomlinson has served as a director from the Company’s founding in 1995 until 2002, and again since his reappointment in November 2007. From May 2011 through December 2013, Mr. Tomlinson was a corporate lawyer employed as General Counsel of Portola Minerals Company, a producer and seller of limestone products. From May 2007 through May 2011, Mr. Tomlinson was employed as Of Counsel by the law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Mr. Tomlinson was the founder and a named partner of Tomlinson Zisko LLP and practiced with this Silicon Valley law firm from 1983 until its acquisition by Greenberg Traurig, LLP in May 2007. He served as managing partner of Tomlinson Zisko LLP for multiple terms. While at Tomlinson Zisko LLP, Mr. Tomlinson and his firm served as the licensing counsel to RSA Data Security, Inc. and the Company for a wide variety of cryptographic and related cybersecurity products. Mr. Tomlinson holds a B.A. degree in Economics, a Ph.D. degree in History, an M.B.A., and a J.D. degree from Stanford University.
Mr. Tomlinson has significant expertise in corporate matters including finance and mergers and acquisitions and has represented clients in the technology industry for more than thirty years. Mr. Tomlinson’s long-term service on our Board has provided him with valuable insight and institutional knowledge of the Company’s history and development. Mr. Tomlinson’s financial and accounting skills qualify him as an audit committee financial expert. He has extensive experience in corporate governance, both as a lawyer advising clients, and through serving on our Audit, Compensation, and Corporate Governance and Nominating Committees, as well as the audit, compensation, and governance committees of other companies.