After eight years on the helm, Surfshark founder Vytautas Kaziukonis has stepped down from his position as CEO, with Chief Working Officer, Dovydas Godelis, taking the reins.
The 2 males could not be any completely different. Kaziukonis is an adrenaline junky, who can checklist skilled rally driver and licensed pilot on his spectacular CV. Godelis, in his personal phrases, is “extra course of oriented” and “gradual structured.” He performs golf and loves video video games.
Greater than only a VPN
All through our chat, new CEO Godelis burdened how essential it was to him for Surfshark to be seen as “greater than only a VPN firm.”
Godelis identified that, “from day one,” Surfshark has all the time been referred to as simply Surfshark – not “Surfshark VPN.”
The VPN was its first product, and one which has turn out to be vastly profitable. It will take time for individuals to affiliate the corporate with something however the VPN – Surfshark is a sufferer of its personal success on this method.
The naming is deliberate and Godelis desires to alter perceptions of Surfshark. He puzzled if the corporate is not “positioning different merchandise correctly,” and he’s aiming to handle this.
“Surfshark is a fully-fledged cybersecurity answer to guard you each single day,” Godelis proudly stated.
In addition to the VPN, Surfshark’s product vary contains Antivirus, Incogni information removing service, private information alerts, secure search, rip-off checkers, and Various ID & Quantity. Its newest launch is ID theft insurance coverage protection price as much as $1 million.
(Picture credit score: Surfshark)
Godelis desires Surfshark “to be adopted by the lots,” all around the world. Its mission “is to construct essentially the most beloved safety merchandise for everybody.” Godelis himself was a part of creating that mission and setting Surfshark on this course, and it is one thing the entire Surfshark workforce subscribes to.
Like Godelis, a lot of his Surfshark colleagues have been with the corporate for over seven years. He cites this low workers turnover as an essential consider Surfshark’s mission and success, describing his personal journey as “wonderful.”
At solely 36 years-old, Godelis has been with Surfshark for nearly half his skilled profession. He began his Surfshark journey within the advertising workforce earlier than transitioning into product, changing into the unique product supervisor for Surfshark Alert – Surfshark’s private information leak monitor. From there he turned COO and now CEO.
Our mission is to construct essentially the most beloved safety merchandise for everybody
Dovydas Godelis, Surfshark CEO
Godelis sees his new position as a “completely different type of duty.” However he is aware of Surfshark and its merchandise “out and in,” and desires to all the time be round and obtainable to his groups.
In addition to encouraging person interviews, Godelis participates in them himself. He desires to “higher perceive, and really feel, what customers really feel” and listen to about “their expertise of the product.”
Consumer expertise is a precedence for Godelis. He desires Surfshark’s customers to “really feel hooked up to the product, as a result of it simply feels nice.” He desires to supply all of the cybersecurity options one may probably want, “in a easy and intuitive method.”
Picture: Surfshark’s new CEO, Dovydas Godelis (Picture credit score: Surfshark)
No fast product adjustments
Earlier than sitting down with Godelis, I puzzled if a brand new CEO would spark some massive adjustments at Surfshark. However that does not appear to be the case. Godelis instructed me there’d be “no main adjustments” within the quick time period, joking that he will not be firing 200 individuals “due to the AI revolution.”
Godelis is somebody who deeply cares about Surfshark, is aware of the corporate and its methods, and the path Surfshark desires to be heading.
He desires all Surfshark customers to have an equally nice expertise throughout all platforms. Surfshark’s inexpensive value is a big pull issue for a lot of of its customers and Godelis confirmed there aren’t any plans to alter this pricing mannequin.
I requested if he’d take into account providing a free VPN plan, akin to Proton VPN Free, Windscribe Free, and PrivadoVPN Free. Nonetheless this is not one thing Godelis is planning to introduce. He believes Surfshark’s present inexpensive value “is extra sustainable and in addition extra reassuring for purchasers.”
He argued that with a free plan you continue to need to pay for infrastructure and servers. You’d then have to start out limiting speeds, gadgets, options, and variety of places. It would not be “the identical expertise as present customers are getting,” he stated.
Godelis did not assume getting the identical outcomes was potential with a free plan. He added that the present plan is to maintain the inexpensive pricing construction, which permits prospects a simple entry level to “see whether or not or not Surfshark delivers what’s promised.”
(Picture credit score: Surfshark)
Help for the OpenVPN protocol has turn out to be a hotly debated matter inside the VPN trade in current months. Main VPNs, together with Proton VPN and Mullvad, have begun to take away help and absolutely deal with WireGuard and proprietary protocols.
WireGuard is a more recent, extra compact and quicker protocol, and is usually the default protocol utilized by most VPNs. OpenVPN is a extremely safe, however usually slower, veteran.
I used to be to listen to Surfshark’s plans for OpenVPN. After the interview, Surfshark confirmed that it “will proceed to keep up it within the nearest future by guaranteeing highest safety and efficiency requirements.”
Godelis additionally teased some updates and bulletins that’ll be coming “very quickly.”
VPNs and age verification
2025 and the start of 2026 has seen elevated strain on VPNs, within the type of blocks, bans, and potential age restrictions. Lawmakers, governments, and third-parties have all focused VPNs, and the privateness instruments have been on the coronary heart of the controversy surrounding age verification legal guidelines.
I do not assume blocking VPNs solves the protection downside
Dovydas Godelis, Surfshark CEO
Critics argue that our proper to privateness is being eroded with the implementation of age verification legal guidelines. The legal guidelines, rightfully, intention to guard youngsters from seeing dangerous content material on-line. However they require adults to confirm their age to be able to entry sure apps and web sites.
Finishing age verification checks means handing over delicate private information, akin to IDs, selfies, and bank card data. This information then turns into a chief goal for hackers and the implications of an information breach may very well be catastrophic.
As a father, Godelis thinks defending youngsters on-line is essential, however does not assume “blocking VPNs solves the protection downside.” He stated VPNs are usually not “a distinct segment product.” They’re instruments utilized by companies, journalists, researchers, college students, and tens of millions of others all over the world “each single day to guard and safe themselves on-line.”
Godelis described VPNs as a “essential a part of a cybersecurity ecosystem.” Blocking them would “create much more harm” and fail to “clear up any security challenges policymakers try to handle.”
Fairly than block VPNs, Godelis believed numerous types of parental controls are the way in which ahead. “VPNs are usually not the issue right here,” he stated, and he takes duty as a mother or father in limiting entry to social media for youngsters.
(Picture credit score: Future)
An thrilling future for Surfshark
It is clear to me that Surfshark is in secure arms with Godelis on the helm. He is passionate concerning the firm, its merchandise, and its workers.
His objective is to proceed Surfshark’s spectacular progress and success, and create a whole cybersecurity suite anybody and everybody can use. As time goes on, and he settles into his position, we’ll little question see his private contact and method of working make its mark.
Godelis will little question face challenges, each internally and externally, and it is onerous to foretell what the VPN trade will seem like in a single, two, 5, or 10 years’ time. Nevertheless it’s an thrilling time for Godelis and Surfshark, and I will be following its developments with nice curiosity.
In the present day’s greatest Surfshark offers
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