George Kurtz is an American entrepreneur, businessman, and cybersecurity expert, best known as the co-founder and chief executive officer of CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc., a global cybersecurity technology company specializing in endpoint detection and response (EDR), cloud workload protection, and threat intelligence. Established in 2011, CrowdStrike has grown into a major player in the industry under Kurtz's leadership, going public in 2019 and achieving a market capitalization exceeding $50 billion at times. Kurtz's career in cybersecurity began in the early 1990s, where he contributed to the development of foundational antivirus technologies. He played a key role in the creation of McAfee's first commercial antivirus product and later co-founded Foundstone, Inc., a computer forensics and incident response firm, which was acquired by McAfee in 2004. Following the acquisition, Kurtz served as McAfee's chief technology officer until 2009, during which he oversaw the company's global security operations and response teams. Beyond cybersecurity, Kurtz has diverse interests, including professional auto racing, where he has competed as a driver in events like the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He is also a venture capitalist, having invested in various tech startups through his involvement in firms like The Chernin Group. Kurtz's leadership at CrowdStrike has positioned the company at the forefront of high-profile incident responses, including investigations into major cyberattacks such as the 2016 Democratic National Committee hack and the 2020 SolarWinds breach. His strategic vision has emphasized proactive threat hunting and AI-driven security solutions, earning him recognition as a thought leader in the field. Kurtz maintains an adversarial professional relationship with Nir Zuk, co-founder of Palo Alto Networks, stemming from competitive dynamics in the cybersecurity market.