Career Notes for May 2024

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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!

Matt Garman

Matt Garman

AWS announced that starting June 3, Matt Garman will be its new CEO, replacing Adam Selipsky, who announced his resignation earlier in the month. Garman joined AWS as a college intern in 2005 when he was still in college, and most recently was senior vice president of AWS Sales, Marketing, and Global Services at Amazon.

“When I joined AWS as a full-time employee, our worldwide sales team was three people. We did everything. I was the product manager and I wrote product detail pages, came up with pricing plans, ran product naming meetings—whatever was needed,” Garman wrote in an Amazon blog post. “We all saw there was something there, but we really didn’t know how big AWS was going to be. We were just really excited about going and building things, about seeing what we could do.”

Julien Le Dem

Julien Le Dem

Datadog, the developer of application performance management (APM) and DevSecOps tools, has a new lead engineer: Julien Le Dem, the open data architect who co-created Apache Parquet and Apache Arrow, and who was lead tech on Twitter’s data analytic pipeline.

“I am happy to announce that I have started a new position!” Le Dem wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “The cat is out of the bag but one question lingers… Who let the dogs out? Woof! Woof! I am now Principal Engineer at Datadog. Who could resist the puppy-dog eyes of this data platform?”

Anthony Lee-Masis

Anthony Lee-Masis

ThoughtSpot, a provider of BI and analytics tools, announced the appointment of Anthony Lee-Masis as its new chief information security officer (CISO). Lee-Masis joins ThoughtSpot from his role as CISO and data protection officer at Xactly Corp.

“It’s a privilege to join a market leader like ThoughtSpot that consistently sits at the cutting-edge of data analytics and AI,” said Anthony Lee-Masis, Chief Information Security Officer, ThoughtSpot. “As more companies begin to migrate to GenAI-powered analytics tools, they need assurance that their most valuable asset will remain secure, protected, and private. ThoughtSpot has embraced this ethos since inception, and I’m excited to contribute to this proactive culture of security awareness and empower our customers to adopt our innovative solutions with confidence.”

Marcello Gallo, Sean Hughes, and Chad Peets

Cloud-based analytics provider Sigma made several executive appointments as part of its recent $200 million Series D round, including Marcello Gallo as chief revenue officer, Sean Hughes as SVP of sales for the Americas, and Chad Peets as a new member of the board of directors.

Hughes comes to Sigma with a 20-year history in the tech business, including at Braze, QlikTech, and Tableau. Gallo most recently was the  Executive in Residence at Sutter Hill Ventures, and before that was the CRO at Moveworks and the SVP of sales position at MongoDB.

“We’re thrilled to welcome as CRO Marcello Gallo and Sean Hughes as SVP of Sales for the Americas,” said Mike Palmer, Sigma CEO. “I’m confident these world-class sales executives will help us continue to drive the triple-digit growth we’ve enjoyed over the last few years.”

Peets, meanwhile, is currently the managing partner of Riverpoint Capital. Prior to that, he spent five years as managing director at Sutter Hill Ventures, one of the venture capital firms that participated in the recent Series D.

“Chad brings relevant experience in building world-class go-to-market organizations and is uniquely qualified to help Sigma retain its position as the fastest growing, intuitive business intelligence solution provider,” said Palmer. “His enthusiasm and drive for success meets the unstoppable energy Sigma remains focused on maintaining.”

Brooke Cunningham

Brooke Cunningham

Observability platform provider LogicMonitor recently announced the hiring of Brooke Cunningham to be its new chief marketing officer. Cunningham joins LogicMonitor following senior marketing positions at SAP, Qlik and Splunk.

“From my first meeting with LogicMonitor, I knew this was a special place,” Cunningham said. “With cutting-edge technology and enviable customers, I saw the opportunity to work with this brilliant team and make an impact. My focus is to boost this incredible brand, fuel the growth trajectory, and expand our global footprint.”

Craig Martell

Data management provider Cohesity announced that it has appointed Craig Martell to be its new chief technology officer. Martell brings extensive experience in industry and the public sector to Cohesity, as well as expertise in AI and machine learning.

Craig Martell

Immediately prior to Cohesity, Martell was the chief digital and artificial intelligence officer (CDAO) for the U.S. Department of Defense, where he was the senior official responsible for accelerating the adoption of data, analytics, digital solutions, and AI functions to generate “decision advantage” across the department. Before his DoD work, Martell held senior roles at Lyft, Dropbox, and LinkedIn, and was a tenured professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, where he specialized in NLP.

“The speed and scale Cohesity has achieved over the last several years is a testament to the incredible technology platform the company has built at the junction of multi-cloud, security, and AI for the future of data protection,” said Martell, who has a PhD in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania. “My role will be to accelerate the innovation internally and the advocacy externally of Cohesity’s AI-powered innovations that are second to none.”

Ramin Sayar

Ramin Sayer

Data observability provider Acceldata announced the appointment of Ramin Sayar, former CEO of Sumo Logic, to its board of directors, where he joins other directors Dev Khare, a partner at Lightspeed; Ken Elefant, partner at Sorenson Ventures; George Mathew, partner at Insight Partners; and Rajan Mehra, partner at March Capital.

“Acceldata has established itself as a leader in enterprise data observability, driving innovation and excellence in data management,” Sayar said. “As data volumes skyrocket and the age of AI introduces new and immediate demands on data teams, proactively maintaining peak data health is crucial for organizational success. I am honored to be part of a team that addresses today’s most challenging data operations issues. I look forward to contributing to the next phase of our growth.”

Mike Sefanov

Mike Sefanov

Vector database maker Pinecone announced that it has hired Mike Sefanov to be its first director of communications. Sevanov joins Pinecone from IBM, where he previously handled press relations for Power, IBM i, and System Z.

Before IBM, Mike managed communications for Verizon and Yahoo, covering areas like Yahoo Mail and Search. His career began at CNN and MTV, back when MTV focused on music videos.

Sefanov “will be instrumental in leading global communications, analyst relations, and corporate events at Pinecone,” the company says.

Jitesh Ghai

Hyland Software, a provider of enterprise content management systems, announced the appointment of Jitesh Ghai to be its new president and CEO, replacing Bill Priemer, who was CEO for 11 years. Ghai comes to Hyland via Informatica, where he led a 2,000-person team as chief product officer and executive vice president.

“I’m incredibly excited and honored for this unique opportunity to lead the next chapter for Hyland employees, customers and partners globally,” Ghai said. “I congratulate Bill on his successes at Hyland, and my goal is to build upon the foundation he’s established, drive our innovative culture forward and to further cement our position as the industry leader in intelligent content solutions. We are just getting started, and our Hyland team members and stakeholders can be excited about what our future holds.”

Ross Dempsy

Ross Dempsey, Monica Öberg, and Victoria Welvaert

Stratvito, the Sweden-based provider of a user insights platform, has announced three executive appointments, including Ross Dempsey, its new director of insights engagement, Monica Öberg, its new vice president of people, and Victoria Welvaert, a new account executive.

Monica Öberg

Dempsey most recently led insights engagement at Burberry, where he was exposed to Stravito, while Öberg arrives at the company following stints at ClimateView and SilverRail Technologies. Welvaert joins Stravito with 14 years of global commercial experience in the market research industry, with over a decade at Mintel.

Victoria Welvaert

“Stravito is in a fast period of growth and Ross, Monica and Victoria are joining at an exciting stage in our trajectory,” said Stravito Founder and CEO, Thor Olof Philogène. “I’m thrilled to bring on their stellar industry experience and confident their expertise will help more of the world’s largest organizations discover and integrate business critical insights to make informed decisions.”

Josh Kanagy

Geospatial data platvorm provider Foursquare announced that Josh Kanagy has joined the company as the new senior vice president of global sales. Prior to Foursquare, Kanagy spent more than a decade in a range of senior sales and revenue organization roles at notable technology companies, including Salesforce and Sprinklr.

Josh Kanagy

“I’m excited to join in on Foursquare’s mission to drive maximum value for customers while continuing to shape the state of location technology,” Kanagy said. “There’s a massive opportunity for businesses to accelerate their decision-making process through geospatial data, and I look forward to materializing these outcomes at scale.”

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