Since Lookout was founded, the company has been committed to investing in the communities outside of our own doors where we can see the results as proud members of the Pledge 1% movement. The philanthropic founders and CEO have created a culture of giving back by pledging equity, time and profits - and leading by example.
In 2014, over dinner at Marc Benioff’s home, Marc challenged the CEOs around the table to pledge 1% of their company equity to fund their social impact work, as he had done at Salesforce. Jim Dolce, CEO of Lookout, took Marc’s words to heart and got to work with Lookout’s founders, John Hering, Kevin Mahaffey and James Burgess, and Lookout COO and CFO, Mark Nasiff to create the Lookout Foundation.
The founders and CEO of Lookout each donated personal cash and stock to jumpstart the Lookout Foundation’s social impact activities - and to inspire the Board to approve a grant of 1% of Company equity to the Foundation. The strategy worked! During its 2015 Series F round, the Lookout Board approved the transfer of .2% of the shares per year over 5 years to the Foundation.
The Lookout Foundation is an independent 501c3 charitable organization run by employee volunteers who drive grant-making activities and employee engagement. The 3 pillars that the Foundation supports are Women & STEM, Internet Privacy & Security and Supporting Black & Underserved Communities. The Foundation gives grants and employees volunteer with impactful nonprofits in the cities where they live and work- San Francisco, Boston, Washington, DC, Toronto, London and Bangalore. Recipient charities include SMASH, NextGenCyberTalent, Stemettes, and humanitarian organizations around the world that are helping those negatively impacted by COVID and natural disasters.
In furtherance of the Lookout Foundation’s mission of supporting Women & STEM, Lookout launched the Day of Shecurity conference in 2015 with 25 female engineers gathered around a table at the Lookout headquarters. In 2021, Lookout held two interactive events that together reached over 2500 women from over 50 countries, sponsored by over 50 companies, including some of the most notable names in tech. Day of Shecurity was a resounding success and achieved our simple goal of inspiring more women to participate in the cybersecurity industry.
Brenley Brotman, VP Global Recruiting and Chair of the Lookout Foundation led discussions on what it’s like to work at Lookout with female employees in the Lookout Expo Booth, making it the most visited Expo Booth at both of the virtual conferences. Given the popularity of these talks, the Lookout Foundation has launched an ongoing “Day in the Life'' series that we will share with our nonprofit partners and on the Lookout YouTube channel. You may see excerpts from a “Day in the Life” with Lookout Senior Threat Intelligence Researcher, Kristina Balaam here:
Leading by example, the Lookout founders and CEO have created a culture of giving back that inspires employees and makes Lookout a fantastic place to work. As a member of the Pledge 1% Builders, Lookout interacts frequently with fellow Member companies, sharing best practices on choosing grant recipients, sourcing virtual volunteer opportunities, and more.
