CrowdStrike co-founder

Dmitri Alperovitch's story

A Moscow-born engineer who became CrowdStrike's first CTO.

Dmitri Alperovitch was born in Moscow in 1980. In 1994, at 13, he left Russia with his family. His father, Michael, a nuclear physicist, later worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the family settled in Chattanooga in 1995.

While still in high school he and his father started an encryption technology business. He later earned a computer science degree in 2001 and a master's in information security in 2003 at Georgia Tech.

In late 2011 he co-founded CrowdStrike with George Kurtz and Gregg Marston and served as chief technology officer. He left the company in February 2020.

In 2021 he launched the Silverado Policy Accelerator, which he chairs. He also founded the Alperovitch Institute for Cybersecurity Studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS. In 2024 he co-wrote World on the Brink with Garrett Graff.

Read the full CrowdStrike founder story

Where was Dmitri Alperovitch born?

Dmitri Alperovitch was born in 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union. He left Russia at 13 in 1994. His family settled in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1995, where his father, a nuclear physicist, worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority.

What is Dmitri Alperovitch's education?

He earned a BS in computer science in 2001 and an MS in information security in 2003, both from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

What was Dmitri Alperovitch's role at CrowdStrike?

He co-founded CrowdStrike in late 2011 with George Kurtz and Gregg Marston and served as chief technology officer. He left in February 2020.

What does Dmitri Alperovitch do now?

He founded the Silverado Policy Accelerator, a nonprofit focused on great-power competition, which launched in March 2021. He also founded the Alperovitch Institute for Cybersecurity Studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS and co-wrote the 2024 book World on the Brink.