Udi Mokady
Israeli-American co-founder of CyberArk and Unit 8200 veteran
| Udi Mokady | |
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| Born | Zambia |
| Died | |
| Nationality | Israeli, living in the United States |
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| Occupation | Technology executive |
| Known for | Co-founder, long-time CEO and chairman of CyberArk |
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| Website | |
Udi Mokady is an Israeli technology executive and Unit 8200 veteran who co-founded the identity-security company CyberArk in 1999 with his childhood friend Alon Cohen. At CyberArk he served as chief operating officer, chief executive, president and chairman. He led it until its $25 billion sale to Palo Alto Networks, which closed in February 2026.[1]
Early life and Unit 8200
Mokady told Calcalist that he was born in Zambia, where his father, the diplomat Daniel Mokady, was posted, and grew up in Guatemala, Jerusalem, New York and Los Angeles. At 13, back in Jerusalem, he met Alon Cohen. Of their military service he said: "He enlisted in the IDF's central computer and information systems unit, and I joined Unit 8200, before it was considered a glamorous unit." He later took a law degree.[1]
Drop Site News named Mokady, with Palo Alto Networks founder Nir Zuk, as an example of Unit 8200 alumni who had founded major technology companies, in a 2025 report on former Israeli intelligence personnel working in US technology firms.[2]
CyberArk
CyberArk opened a US office in 2000, and Mokady lives in Brookline, near Boston. In mid-2024 the company bought Venafi for $1.5 billion, which he called "the largest acquisition ever made by an Israeli high-tech company". He told Calcalist that when Nir Zuk and Nikesh Arora first approached CyberArk in April 2025 he did not want to sell. After the deal closed, Palo Alto Networks began laying off about 10% of CyberArk's workforce, roughly 500 people. Calcalist estimated his resulting Palo Alto shareholding at about $250 million.[1]
Advocacy for Israel
Mokady told Calcalist: "In all my roles at CyberArk, I felt like an unofficial ambassador for Israel. From the moment we opened an office in the United States in 2000, there was an Israeli flag at the entrance next to the American flag." He added: "Today, it's difficult to fight radicalism, with the billions of dollars invested in efforts to tarnish Israel, but maybe after the elections we'll be able to talk about a new administration for the country."[1] The Israeli American Council lists him on its New England regional council.[3]
See also
- CyberArk
- Alon Cohen (CyberArk)
- Palo Alto Networks
- Unit 8200
- Cyber and tech firms founded by ex Unit 8200 or occupation forces veterans
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Diana Bahur Nir, "There's a price where you have to say yes": CyberArk founder on the $25 billion Palo Alto deal Ctech, 18 June 2026.
- ↑ Murtaza Hussain, Hundreds of Former Israeli Spies Are Working in Big Tech, Database Shows Drop Site News, 13 August 2025.
- ↑ Israeli American Council, Udi Mokady IAC360, accessed 19 October 2026.