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May 15, 2020

Big Data Career Notes: May 2020 Edition

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!


 

Sandra Bergeron and Lisa Hammitt

Sumo Logic announced the appointment of Sandra Bergeron to its board of directors as an independent board member and the addition of Lisa Hammitt as an advisor.  Bergeron currently serves on the board of directors of F5 and Qualys. She has also served on the boards of ArcSight, Netegrity, Nuance, Sophos, Tipping Point, Trace Security, and Tricipher.

Hammitt currently serves as the global vice president of Data and AI at VISA. She has a 25-year career in artificial intelligence and big data. Hammit holds a seat on the board of directors for Clear Channel Outdoor, Glassbox, and Quantum Thought. She is also an advisor for the University of California San Francisco and the U.S. Department of Defense. At Salesforce and Hewlett Packard, she has held senior positions in AI and data.

Cesar Cernuda

NetApp appointed former president of Microsoft Latin America and corporate vice president of Microsoft Corp., Cesar Cernuda, as president and will report to CEO George Kurian. He will be responsible for the company’s global market operations, including sales, marketing services, and support.

“I believe that NetApp will become a key partner in every organization’s data strategy, and I am looking forward to being a part of it,” Cernuda said. “During the past years, the key hyperscale public cloud vendors have bet on NetApp technology to support them with their customer offerings, and I believe this is one of the best examples of how NetApp has been transforming to become a cloud-first organization. I am thrilled with the opportunity to help and support customers and partners across the globe manage and protect one of their most important assets—their data.”

Steve McMillan

Teradata’s board of directors appointed Steve McMillan as president and chief executive officer. He will also take a seat on the board of directors. Before Teradata, McMillan served as executive vice president of Global Sales at F5 Networks. He’s held senior leadership positions at Oracle and IBM.

“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to lead Teradata in the next chapter of its growth strategy,” McMillan said. “Leveraging insights from data has never been more important, and Teradata is leading the way in helping global enterprises unlock real business value from this asset. Teradata has a unique position in a large market, best-in-class technology, a blue-chip customer base, and talented employees. I intend to take a customer-led approach and bring my collaborative and open leadership style to this great franchise to advance its strategy and to ensure Teradata is the partner of choice for customers around the world who need hybrid, cloud-based solutions.”

Janet Mesrobian

Syniti tapped Janet Mesrobian as the company’s senior vice president and general counsel. Mesrobian will work with the leadership team to manage the company’s legal, commercial, and compliance matters. Before Syniti, she’s held leadership positions at Pegasystems and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

“I am excited to join Syniti. I am eager to dive in and provide legal and governance leadership that will help guide and secure the organization’s global footprint,” Mesrobian said. “I hope to bring my global experience, strategic perspective, and legal solutions to further Syniti’s journey as a leader in data and in unlocking their customers and partners power of data.”

Birju Shah

Narrative appointed Birju Shah to its advisory board. He is currently the lead of product of AI and Cities at Uber Technologies, LLC.  Shah has over a 15-year career in hardware, software, technology services, and products. He has launched over 10 products valued over $3 billion worldwide. Before Uber, he held executive roles at Google, Climate Corp., and Arrowstream.

“Enterprises have fallen in love with all the ways they can leverage data, but executing a data strategy is complicated,” Shah said. “With the data monetization market ripe for innovation, Narrative has developed an operating system for data monetization and acquisition that simplifies the entire process and delivers transparency between buyers and sellers. The potential to streamline data acquisition from a multi-year negotiation to a click is game-changing. I am excited to be working with Nick and the entire team, and look forward to providing guidance on their continued innovation and contribution to the marketplace.”

Billy Spears

Alteryx, Inc. announced the addition of Billy Spears under the newly created role of chief information security officer. Spears will be responsible for overseeing information security, enterprise cybersecurity, and associated risk management practices. Spears will also make available ongoing education on information and cybersecurity best practices.

“Architecting and implementing strategic solutions that build trust, enable resilience and incorporate core principles that drive digital transformation and simplify business processes has always been a passion of mine,” Spears said. “I am excited to join Alteryx, a company whose vision empowers that passion—unleashing the thrill of solving. I look forward to working with tremendously talented technologists developing complex solutions that are intended to improve our organizational information security protection posture. Our number one focus is to enhance the privacy and information security solutions that enable improved protections while reducing unnecessary friction interacting with our enterprise technology offerings for both customers, partners and associates around the globe.”

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.

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