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July 16, 2019

Big Data Career Notes: July 2019 Edition

(Who is Danny/Shutterstock)

In this monthly feature, we’ll keep you up-to-date on the latest career developments for individuals in the big data community. Whether it’s a promotion, new company hire, or even an accolade, we’ve got the details. Check in each month for an updated list and you may even come across someone you know, or better yet, yourself!


David Bader

The New Jersey Institute of Technology has announced that it will establish a new Institute for Data Science, directed by Distinguished Professor David Bader. Bader recently joined NJIT’s Ying Wu College of Computing from Georgia Tech, where he was chair of the School of Computational Science and Engineering within the College of Computing. Bader was recognized as one of HPCwire’s People to Watch in 2014.

“Complementing our new facility in Jersey City, which will focus on data science training, NJIT is making significant investments in technological R&D to drive the new AI economy,” said Fadi P. Deek, provost and senior executive vice president of NJIT. “The new institute is a key step in that direction. I cannot think of anyone more qualified than Dr. Bader to lead the new institute and we are fortunate to have him join us.”

Richard Breakiron

Commvault has announced that Richard Breakiron will be taking on a new sales leadership role in the Americas Public Sector, serving as senior director of strategic initiatives. Prior to joining Commvault, Breakiron served as executive vice president, Public Sector, at root9B. Prior to this position, Breakiron served as the senior director, cyber solutions for ViON. 

“I’m extremely excited to begin launching new enterprise data initiatives that expand our work with the public sector, allowing these organizations to leverage Commvault’s innovative approach to implement holistic data management for simplified data recovery, information readiness and actionable analysis,” said Breakiron.

Dean Darwin

Igneous has announced that it has added Dean Darwin to its Board of Directors, bringing the board to six total members. Darwin also serves on the Advisory Board for the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington and as the SVP of Prisma Cloud GTM at Palo Alto Networks. 

“New machine-driven workflows are driving data creation at a faster rate than ever,” said Darwin, “but managing files and objects across heterogeneous datacenter environments and public cloud vendors poses a huge challenge to the people trying to derive value out of this data. Igneous has seen success so far due to its as-a-Service delivery model and unparalleled ability to manage vast volumes of unstructured data, and these advantages will continue to drive customer acquisition and retention.”

Steven Picot

Commvault has also announced that Steven Picot will take on a sales leadership role in the Americas Public Sector, where he will be responsible for leading Commvault’s business in the public sector. Prior to joining Commvault, Picot served as the chief revenue officer for root9B, an advanced cybersecurity company serving the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Cyber Command and other U.S. intelligence agencies.

“Commvault has an outstanding track record in the public sector and I’m thrilled to be here as we deliver new solutions that will help these organizations thrive,” said Picot.

Sammy Zoghlami

Nutanix has announced that it has appointed Sammy Zoghlami as Senior Vice President of Sales for the region of Europe, Middle East & Africa. Zoghlami joined Nutanix in April 2013 as country manager in France, taking on responsibility for southern Europe in 2015. Prior to joining the company, he held sales and business development roles at Cisco and Computacenter in the U.K. and France.

“Over the last six years I’ve been at Nutanix, I’ve seen the company evolve dramatically, and nowhere more so than in the European, Middle East and African theaters,” said Zoghlami. “I am absolutely thrilled to be given the opportunity to build on my experience overseeing markets as diverse as France, Iberia, Italy, Switzerland and North and West Africa and add territories of both proven viability and exciting new potential for Nutanix.”


To read last month’s edition of Career Notes, click here.

Do you know someone that should be included in next month’s list? If so, send us an email at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.

Datanami