Rod Squires named CloudBolt CEO post-StormForge deal

CloudBolt Software has appointed Rod Squires as its new Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Craig Hinkley.

Squires joins CloudBolt following the company's acquisition of StormForge, where he previously served as CEO. StormForge is a machine learning-based Kubernetes right-sizing and orchestration company that CloudBolt acquired on 31 March 2025. The venture capital and private equity firm, Insight Partners, backs both companies.

Squires brings more than 25 years of experience in business growth and transformation to CloudBolt. He has a history of leading companies from early-stage development to over USD $100 million in annual revenue. His career includes four company exits, outcomes totalling USD $550 million, and experience with businesses that achieved a USD $11 billion market capitalisation.

Squires' expertise extends to DevOps, Internet of Things, Analytics, Workflow Automation, and Application Integration, across various business models, including open source, SaaS/cloud, and enterprise software.

CloudBolt described Hinkley's tenure as a period of strategic evolution, which helped the company define its position, focusing on the intersection of cloud financial management and continuous optimisation.

Thomas Krane, Managing Director at Insight Partners, commented on the transition: "We are grateful to Craig for his leadership and the strong foundation he built over the past two years, positioning CloudBolt for success. As the company moves into its next phase, we feel confident that Squires will build on that momentum. Rod's proven track record of accelerating growth, driving innovation, and leveraging AI/ML to differentiate and scale—along with his experience establishing effective product-led growth strategies—will help CloudBolt expand its traction in the market."

Squires is known for his focused approach to go-to-market strategy and will strengthen the company's AI/ML capabilities further. These enhancements are intended to deliver more value to customers and solidify CloudBolt's competitive positioning in the market.

Expressing his perspective on the new role, Squires said: "I'm honored and excited to step into the CEO role at CloudBolt as we enter this next chapter of growth. With the expanded capabilities gained through the acquisition, CloudBolt's potential—and its differentiation in the FinOps market—has never been stronger. Our focus now is on executing at the highest level for our customers and partners, and I'm committed to delivering on that promise."

CloudBolt has reported sustained growth in recent years, securing its position in cloud financial management and the Augmented FinOps sector. Over the past year, the company launched its next-generation FinOps platform, formed new strategic partnerships, and received recognition such as InfoWorld's Technology of the Year Award for Cloud Cost Management.

The company's recent acquisition of StormForge has contributed to CloudBolt's strategy of expanding its reach into private cloud, Kubernetes, and platform-as-a-service environments. CloudBolt's ecosystem of partners and technical alliance program aims to help organisations maximise cloud return on investment and drive continuous optimisation in cloud cost management.