Alissa Starzak

Chief Legal Officer and Secretary Cloudflare

Last Reviewed: October 1, 2026

Executive Summary

Alissa Starzak became Cloudflare’s Chief Legal Officer on 1 April 2026, succeeding Doug Kramer after nearly a decade in which she ran the company’s public policy work. Her background is in national security law rather than corporate practice. Before Cloudflare she was General Counsel of the Department of the Army, a senior Pentagon lawyer handling legislation, and counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Career Highlights

• Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Cloudflare since 1 April 2026.
• Deputy Chief Legal Officer of Cloudflare from January 2024 to March 2026.
• Global Head of Public Policy at Cloudflare from May 2017 to March 2026.
• General Counsel of the Department of the Army from December 2015 to January 2017.
• Deputy General Counsel (Legislation) at the Department of Defense from May 2011 to December 2015.
• Counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from January 2007 to May 2011.

Professional Journey

Starzak earned a B.A. in psychology at Amherst College and a J.D. at the University of Chicago Law School. She clerked for Judge E. Grady Jolly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and worked as an associate at the law firm O’Melveny & Myers.

In January 2007 she became counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, where she stayed until May 2011. She then moved to the Department of Defense as Deputy General Counsel for Legislation, from May 2011 to December 2015. In December 2015 she was appointed General Counsel of the Department of the Army, serving until January 2017.

She joined Cloudflare in May 2017 as Global Head of Public Policy. In January 2024 she also became Deputy Chief Legal Officer.

In February 2026 Cloudflare announced that Chief Legal Officer Doug Kramer would step down at the end of March and that it expected Starzak to succeed him. She became Chief Legal Officer and Secretary on 1 April 2026 and is one of Cloudflare’s four executive officers, alongside Matthew Prince, Michelle Zatlyn and Thomas Seifert.

Education

Amherst College

B.A., Psychology

University of Chicago Law School

J.D.