Meet the Speaker: Dre Armeda

Jen Jamar • June 15, 2025

Where do we start with an introduction for Dre Armeda?

He loves tacos.
He loves Harleys.
He loves his Jeep.
He makes a mean stank face.
He loves WordPress.
He’s an incredible businessman.

And that’s just scratching the surface.

Dre Armeda is Vice President of Operations at WebDevStudios, one of the top WordPress design and development firms in the industry. He’s also cohost of Dradcast, a weekly video podcast that primarily concentrates on the latest news around WordPress, upcoming WordPress events, and the wonderful community surrounding - you guessed it - WordPress.

He’s got some serious startup chops, too. Dre is the co-founder and former CEO of Sucuri, a well-known website security company. At Prestige Conference this August, he’ll be discussing his role with Sucuri and decisions that led to him ultimately pulling the ripcord to move on to new projects.

We asked Dre to answer a few questions so you can get to know him a bit before the conference.

In 3 sentences or less, please describe what you do for a living:

I am part of the WebDevStudios team where I am helping shape and scale the business.

Why this career and not something else?

There is nothing more satisfying than taking a team and growing it!

I am also a web geek, so being able to do so in the world of web geekery is super awesome!

Once you figured out where you wanted your career to go, how did you start making things happen?

Blood, sweat, tears and a lot of luck! I have always wanted to positively impact a large audience. I have tried to stay involved with projects and companies that afford me the opportunity to do so.

What were some of the biggest roadblocks you encountered on your path to success?

Having a large family. Early on after the military, having a large family presented a lot of risk in terms of being able to easily pivot. With the strong support of my wife and family, I was able to take on a bit of that risk knowing they would be there every step of the way.

In addition to working for WebDevStudios, you also co-host Dradcast. What’s it like working with Brad in two different endeavors?

Before my involvement in WDS, there was already that relationship there with Brad, and the show. It was very comforting having that bond as we started moving towards me joining WDS.

Brad is one of my best friends in the world, and we knew that would need to be separated from our business together. We are aware of this, and being able to separate the friendship and our business together makes for pretty smooth dealings on both fronts.

Throughout your career, who have been your most valuable mentors and how did you connect with them?

I learned a lot about myself and my ability to motivate a team while in the military. Senior Chief Henderson who was my Chief while stationed in Naples, Italy had a lot to do with that. He also helped me learn to look at the bigger picture. He taught me to take into account long-term impacts whether positive or negative. He taught me to make decisions by calculating the risks you will encounter now until you’ve reached your overall mission. Business strategy is something I now work with every day, and an area that has become a strong suit. I owe a lot of that foundation to Senior!

Have you learned any lessons through jiu jitsu that helped your business?

Another strategic thing in my life! BJJ is about dominating an opponent physically. Maximizing physical efficiency, dominance on your opponent with the least amount of energy expended. It’s the gentle art, meant for the little guy to maybe not beat a larger opponent, but also not lose against the larger opponent. It has taught me patience, forward thinking, and also to leave my ego at the door. BJJ doesn’t lie, you get on the mat, and you either win, or you learn, there is no faking Jiu Jitsu. In the short term, people can lie in business, they can fake it, but if they aren’t performing, or never really producing value, they will be exposed.

So the take away is to continue to work hard, even if you are trying to fake until you make it. Eventually, if you are working hard, you will learn, and you will provide value!

What’s coming up next for you?

My goal is to continue helping mold and scale WebDevStudios. We are a strong and smart team, and we have some of the greatest clients in the world. We’re working full time with WordPress and really pushing the envelope with WP.

I love to help scale business, I love working with smart people to get there, and we’re doing just that, so I guess you can say I love what I do

As a side effort, I have been toying with Jiu Jitsu clothing, print work like vinyl and t-shirt printing. It’s a fun side thing that I enjoy.

In terms of hobbies, I spend a ton of time on the mat, I want to be a Jiu Jitsu black belt one day.

I am also a dedicated coach and administrator for our city girls fastpitch softball league. Helping progress these young ladies towards higher education through softball is a passion of mine. I am working hard with the league and our city decision makers to try and get these girls dedicated resources by way of fields of their own within Menifee city limits.

Lastly, I have been building a rock crawler the last year. I enjoy my time in the mountains trying to break my Jeep!

Any industry predictions for 2016?

I think you will see more acquisitions and mergers. Funding of WordPress focused businesses won’t stay a rarity forever.

I think you will see a few more mashups indeed, and specifically, I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a couple to a few of the WordPress top agencies combining forces in some capacity.

It’s inevitable, and I think it shows the progression of a young industry.