Tomas Okmanas
Tomas Okmanas[1] | |
|---|---|
 2022 | |
| Born | Tomas Okmanas 5 November 1987 Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Education | Vilnius University Mykolas Romeris University |
| Known for | Tesonet; Nord Security; NordVPN |
| Title | co-founder of Tesonet and Nord Security |
Tomas Okmanas (born November 5, 1987) is a Lithuanian tech entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder of several global startups. He is best known as the co-founder and co-CEO of Nord Security, a global cybersecurity company that provides a popular VPN service NordVPN.
Okmanas focuses on bootstrapping and leveraging technology to grow businesses in multiple different industries.[2] As the co-founder of Tesonet house of brands, he built a diverse investment portfolio. It currently includes a web intelligence collection platform Oxylabs, a hosting provider Hostinger, and a cybersecurity company Surfshark. All three were listed among the fastest-growing European companies by The Financial Times.[3] Hostinger was also named the fastest-growing brand in its market.[4] Tesonet is a shareholder at Šiaulių Bankas, one of the biggest banks in Lithuania,[5] where Okmanas currently holds a seat on the supervisory board.[6]
In 2022, Okmanas entered the sports industry as a part-owner of EuroLeague team BC Žalgiris.[7] In 2024, he expanded his ownership by acquiring the BC London Lions.[8]
Through Tesonet, Okmanas is also a venture-capital investor in various industries, including gaming, adtech, AI, retail, and deep tech.[9] He is also a Limited Partner in several venture capital funds, including Creandum, Plural, and Moonfire.[10]
In 2024, the combined workforce across all his ventures was 3,200 people.[11]
Early life
[edit]Okmanas was born and raised in Vilnius. He earned a bachelor's degree in history at Vilnius University and later earned a master's degree in e-business management at Mykolas Romeris University.[12]
Career
[edit]Okmanas founded Tesonet together with Eimantas Sabaliauskas in 2008.[13] After trying 34 various projects and ideas, from computer games to web hosting solutions, they finally focused on network security, business hosting, and big data solutions.[14][15] Both individually and through the Tesonet accelerator, Okmanas invested in more than 50 different projects and ventures.[16][17] He is actively involved in mentoring new ventures in the Lithuanian startup ecosystem and has taken part in launching a new association aimed at the growth of active Lithuanian startups.[18][19]
In 2012, Okmanas co-founded the VPN service company NordVPN.[12] He contributed to the development of the solution, significantly reducing the time required for TCP packets to travel between the client, the VPN server, and their ultimate destination.[20] Okmanas is listed as one of the inventors of this method in the US patent office database.[21]
In 2017, Okmanas co-founded Nord Security, an umbrella company for several cybersecurity solutions both for clients and businesses, like NordVPN, NordLayer, and NordPass. However, a near-future vision for Nord Security, according to Okmanas, is to have one app that users could forget about after its activation: it would cover all the important areas of consumer security in the background.[12]
Since 2020, Okmanas has been a member of the Forbes Technology Council.[22]
He is also a member of the board of trustees at the Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science, together with the eighth President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė and other prominent Lithuanian figures.[23]
In 2023, together with Eimantas Sabaliauskas, Okmanas helped raise a million euros to Ukraine in an hour, and then doubled the donation.[24] For their philanthropy, Okmanas and Sabaliauskas were named National Patrons of Lithuania.[25]
As of 2024, Okmanas’ net worth is estimated to be €1.2 billion.[26]
Advocacy
[edit]Okmanas is a member of the board of directors of the Internet infrastructure coalition (i2Coalition).[27] This initiative ensures that those who build the infrastructure of the internet have a voice in public policy. In 2019, i2Coalition and six leading VPN service providers launched an initiative called VPN Trust Initiative (VTI).[28] A year later, VTI released a set of VTI Principles to offer a comprehensive set of best practices for VPN providers. Speaking on behalf of NordVPN, a member of VTI, Okmanas stated that the release of VTI Principles and Standards sets the bar for the whole industry.[29]
References
[edit]- ^ "Leadership at Nord Security". Nord Security. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- ^ "Tomas Okmanas". World Economic Forum.
- ^ "FT 1000: the eighth annual ranking of Europe's fastest-growing companies". March 1, 2024. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ James Capell (May 30, 2024). "Hostinger becomes the world's fastest growing web hosting company". TechRadar. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ "Tesonet announces agreement to invest in Siauliu Bankas". Tesonet. December 23, 2021.
- ^ "Bank's Supervisory Council". Šiaulių bankas. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ "Tesonet invests in Zalgiris Kaunas". Tesonet. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ "London Lions announce new ownership and Zalgiris partnership". Basket News. August 19, 2024.
- ^ "Tom Okman investor portfolio, rounds & team". map.startuplithuania.lt. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ Novakova, Natalie (October 9, 2023). "Tech Wrap Oct. 9: Lithuanian VC Leads Pre-seed Round of Germany-based Climate Tech Startup, Estonian VC Firm Backs AI-based Content Moderation Platform". Icebreaker. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ "About". Tesonet. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c Gewirtz, David. "Meet NordSec: The company behind NordVPN wants to be your one-stop privacy suite". ZDNet. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ March 2020, TechRadar Pro 31 (March 31, 2020). "Moving the VPN industry forward: a Q&A with NordVPN". TechRadar. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Story of Tesonet | We are Tesonet". October 30, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ "Okmanas: If We Want More Unicorns, We Need to Invest in Youth Education and the Modernisation of Spaces". Vilnius University. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ March 2020, TechRadar Pro 31 (March 31, 2020). "Moving the VPN industry forward: a Q&A with NordVPN". TechRadar. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Pixevia Scoops $1.18 Million to Develop AI-based Smart Retail Store". AiThority. August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ "Tesonet - Accelerating the digital future and innovation | We are Tesonet". April 30, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ "Lithuania hopes for new unicorns this year". DELFI. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ "Moving the VPN industry forward: a Q&A with NordVPN". TechRadar. March 31, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ US 11050587, Norbutas, Emanuelis; Okmanas, Tomas & Briedis, Marijus, "Multi-part TCP connection over VPN", issued 2020-02-04, assigned to 360 IT UAB
- ^ "Tom Okman". Forbes Councils. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ "Board of Trustees". TSPMI. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ "Lithuanians raised €1m in one hour for Ukraine – and IT company doubled it". lrt.lt. February 6, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ administrator (June 13, 2024). "Tesonet Global Shareholders Named National Patrons for Donation to Ukraine". Lithuania. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ ELTA (November 26, 2024). "The list of the richest people in Lithuania has been published: V. Germanas takes the 19th place". MadeinVilnius.lt. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ "Tom Okman". i2Coalition. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ Castro, Chiara (September 28, 2023). "Top VPN providers get recognized as secure and ethical products". TechRadar. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ "VPN Trust Initiative releases VPN principles for providers and users". securitybrief.asia. Retrieved August 9, 2021.