New Jamf CEO Sees AI Advances as Apple Security Driver

Jamf named longtime lieutenant Beth Tschida as its new CEO and tasked her with defining the role artificial intelligence will play both internally and with customers.

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The Minneapolis-based Apple management and security vendor will use AI to automate routine work, improve software testing coverage and uncover patterns across code bases and datasets that would otherwise remain difficult to identify manually, Tschida said. She started as interim CEO in March and assumed the role permanently Wednesday, replacing John Strosahl, who had been CEO since Fall 2023.

“We’ve been transforming my former group in terms of AI, and now that’s certainly coming to us as a company, and it’s coming to our customers in ways that they’re looking at how they’re going to handle it,” Tschida told ISMG. “We’re looking at how do we transform Jamf using that, and then how do we help solve customer problems in the way that they’re looking at enabling AI in their organizations.”

Tschida joined Jamf in August 2018 to lead software engineering, expanded her purview in March 2020 to include all of global software delivery, and was promoted again in January 2022 to chief technology officer, remaining in that role until becoming CEO. She previously spent nearly five years leading the employee benefits and life insurance division at Voya Financial and 14 years at insurance firm MetLife (see: Francisco Partners to Buy Apple Security Firm Jamf for $2.2B).

Why Organizations Need Visibility Into AI Usage Patterns

Jamf is building capabilities to give organizations greater visibility into AI usage patterns and enabling administrators to apply policies and controls governing which users can access specific AI tools, Tschida said. She said the company is opening its platform to allow customers to integrate with APIs, MCP servers and emerging agentic AI workflows.

“This AI journey is one where you have to lean into the opportunities,” Tschida said. “You have to act with urgency, but with great care.”

Tschida said Jamf intends to combine AI enablement with governance capabilities so organizations can safely scale AI deployments across Apple devices. AI developers prefer Apple devices and many AI models launch on macOS platforms first, which strengthens Jamf’s market position because companies that standardize on Apple devices frequently rely on Jamf to manage, secure and deploy those systems.

“I think AI runs better on Apple,” Tschida said. “That’s what developers like. The people that are really running these tool prefer to be on Apple devices. There’s a growth of – and a desire of – using more of those devices, and organizations run better when they run Jamf with their Apple, so it’s a very good combination together.”

Organizations can’t effectively secure devices without also maintaining management capabilities and identity controls, and Tschida said Jamf combines visibility, compliance enforcement and remediation. If a device falls out of compliance or exhibits suspicious behavior, organizations need the ability to immediately take corrective action through automated workflows and policy enforcement, Tschida said.

“When you look at having the ability to manage, secure and have the right identity, that’s where it all comes together,” Tschida said. “One without the other doesn’t really help an organization succeed with Apple the way we want it to.”

What Francisco Partners Buy Means for Jamf Investment Levels

Tschida said Jamf’s strategy is to help CISOs gain visibility into AI usage, identify shadow AI activity and deploy governance controls that allow organizations to safely embrace AI innovation without sacrificing security or compliance. Jamf has executed two rounds of layoffs in recent years, cutting roughly 166 workers – or 6% of its workforce – in January 2024, then doing similar-sized layoffs again in July 2025 (see: Jamf Carries Out Another Round of Layoffs, Axing 6% of Staff).

“Organizations are pushing to try and expand AI very quickly, and that CISO role is sitting in the middle of it, trying to make sure we’re handling things in a prudent way, but enabling organizations to also improve and accelerate whatever it is their objectives are using AI,” Tschida said.

Jamf in January was taken private by Francisco Partners for $2.2 billion, and Tschida said the transition to private ownership helps Jamf focus more heavily on long-term growth and customer priorities rather than quarterly public market pressures. The company remains heavily focused on expanding its product road map and solving customer problems through ongoing R&D investment, Tschida said.

“Francisco Partners is a tremendously strong partner,” Tschida said. “When you’re in the public markets, you have other things you need to think about on the quarterly. We don’t have that anymore, which really helps us to align to the mission and to align to the opportunities in front of us right now in a way that allows us just to focus on the customers and the solutions we want to get to market.”

The ongoing effort to achieve FedRAMP certification will position Jamf to better serve U.S. government agencies and federal organizations that increasingly support Apple devices within their environments. Tschida said she closely monitors whether customers continue renewing with Jamf, expand their product adoption and remain satisfied with the company’s offerings.

“If you start with happy customers and happy partners, the rest of this comes along quite well,” Tschida said. “Those are the areas that I will be focusing my time and attention on.”