Vytautas Kaziukonis

He founded Surfshark in 2018 and became its chief executive. In a 2022 interview with the Lithuanian business outlet Verslo žinios, he said Surfshark and Nord SecurityNord SecurityNord Security is a cybersecurity company headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the maker of NordVPN. Co-founded by Tomas Okmanas, Eimantas Sabaliauskas and Jonas Karklys, it also makes NordPass, NordLocker, NordLayer and Saily; it merged with Surfshark under one holding company in 2022 and raised funding at a $3 billion valuation in 2023.Open the full entry had both started under the IT incubator TesonetTesonetTesonet is a Lithuanian venture builder founded by Tomas Okmanas and Eimantas Sabaliauskas. Run as a founders’ office, it builds and invests in companies; Nord Security, Surfshark and Oxylabs all started within its ecosystem.Open the full entry, which during Surfshark’s first two years as part of the Tesonet Group helped with matters such as hiring and office rentals. He described Surfshark and Tesonet as “close friends” that share “market insights and forecasts,” and called Surfshark “a Lithuanian capital company,” while declining to disclose its shareholders.⁠[1][3]

Surfshark published the results of Cure53Cure53Cure53 is a Berlin-based security assessment firm founded by Mario Heiderich in 2007. It provides security architecture advice, penetration tests, and infrastructure, platform and cryptography audits, and has carried out published audits for providers including Surfshark and ExpressVPN.Open the full entry’s audit of five of its VPN servers, which listed four general weaknesses rated Medium severity or lower. Kaziukonis said: “Having a secure network of thousands of servers is a big responsibility.”⁠[4]

Surfshark launched the data removal service IncogniIncogniIncogni is a personal data removal subscription service launched by Surfshark that sends, and regularly repeats, deletion requests to data brokers and people search sites on users’ behalf; its operating company, Incogni Inc., was established in 2022. A Deloitte limited assurance report published in 2025 said it covered at least 420 brokers as of July 2025.Open the full entry, which contacts data brokers on behalf of users in Europe and the United States to have their personal data deleted. Kaziukonis said the service was meant to help users push back against data brokers’ practices more effectively.⁠[5]

Surfshark and Nord Security announced that they had completed a merger agreement under which each company would keep its own infrastructure and product roadmap and operate independently. Kaziukonis said: “Consolidations in the global consumer cybersecurity market indicate the industry’s maturity.”⁠[6]

Surfshark announced that its chief operating officer, Dovydas Godelis, would succeed Kaziukonis as chief executive, while Kaziukonis became chairman of the board, helping to set the company’s long-term vision. “I am handing over this leadership baton with great confidence and peace of mind,” he said.⁠[1]

Surfshark Group completed the acquisition of a majority stake in the US data removal company Optery, its second strategic acquisition after the 2024 purchase of Ironwall, a data removal service for public officials; Optery would continue to operate as a standalone company. Kaziukonis said the group’s goal was “to empower people to take full control of their digital lives.”⁠[2]

Surfshark: Founder and chairman of the board. Website: https://surfshark.com/ (opens in a new window); LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vytautas-kaziukonis (opens in a new window)⁠[1][7]