Groundbreaking leadership skills catapult KnowBe4's first internal legal counsel to senior executive role
KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, today announced that Alicia Dietzen Tawil has been promoted from General Counsel to chief legal officer. This promotion reflects her significant contributions during her more than seven years with KnowBe4.
Alicia started as KnowBe4’s first in-house attorney, and was tasked with building out the organization’s various legal and compliance functions. During her tenure, she has guided KnowBe4 through various milestones, such as its global expansion efforts, numerous acquisitions, multiple investment rounds, a successful IPO, and its go-private transaction with Vista Equity Partners. Alicia’s dedication to fostering growth in the field is evident through her active role in the Women’s Committee of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s West Central Florida chapter and assistance with the KnowBe4 driven Stetson University College of Law Cybersecurity Law Program. She is also a recipient of numerous legal industry awards. Alicia is licensed as an attorney in Florida, Washington D.C., and was recently sworn into the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. She also holds an International Association of Privacy Professionals certification.
“I am grateful to have joined KnowBe4 early on in my legal career. It has proven to be an immensely valuable experience, offering me a unique opportunity to grow, lead, and innovate alongside a world class team,” said Alicia. “Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to be able to build out and lead a global team of attorneys and support staff. It has been rewarding to see how far we have come collectively as an organization. As I step into this new role as chief legal officer, I look forward to more growth with KnowBe4.”
“Alicia possesses a unique combination of skills including leadership, professionalism and a drive to learn new skills,” said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO, KnowBe4. “Not only has she built our entire international legal department from scratch, she continues to earn industry recognition with coveted awards and has made an impact within her local community.”
About KnowBe4
KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is used by more than 65,000 organizations around the globe. Founded by IT and data security specialist Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organizations address the human element of security by raising awareness about ransomware, CEO fraud and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to awareness training on security. The late Kevin Mitnick, who was an internationally recognized cybersecurity specialist and KnowBe4’s Chief Hacking Officer, helped design the KnowBe4 training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Organizations rely on KnowBe4 to mobilize their end users as their last line of defense and trust the KnowBe4 platform to strengthen their security culture and reduce human risk.
