Big Data Career Notes for August 2024
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!
Alyssa Sliney
Enterprise data management firm Syniti named Alyssa Sliney to be its new senior vice president of EMEA Delivery. In her new role, Alyssa will be responsible for delivery quality, driving year-on-year revenue growth, employee engagement and meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
Sliney joined Syniti 20 years ago as an intern and for the past five years has been the senior delivery partner in charge of quality and governance within the Syniti Knowledge Platform. The Bentley University (Waltham, Massachusetts) alum will now move across the Atlantic to start her new role.
“My career is built on supporting organisations to be practical with their data management efforts,” she said. “I’ve rescued IT teams who have turned to Syniti when their data has meant their transformation projects risk failure. And I’ve worked with teams through divestitures, mergers and acquisitions so their integrated business can access all data easily. I’m bringing this experience to my new role, and I can’t wait to work with the great team Syniti has in EMEA.”
Chris Lisica
Hammerspace, developer of a distributed file system and data management platform announced that it has appointed Chris Lisica as head of customer support for the EMEA and APJ regions. Lisica will leverage his 20 years of experience at Qumulo’s customer support organization and as the technical operations manager for Microsoft Xbox video in his new role.
“Chris is often referred to as the ‘Godfather of Slack Support,’ and his technical leadership will help us build a global team focused on superior customer service,” said Douglas Fallstrom, senior vice president of products and operations at Hammerspace. “As Hammerspace continues our expansion into new regions, our number-one priority is ensuring our customers’ success and providing the best, most responsive customer experience possible.”
Steven Campbell
Cerabyte, which is developing immutable ceramic-based storage, announced that it has appointed Steven Campbell to be its new chief technology officer. Campbell, who previously was the CTO of Hitachi Global Storage Technology (HGST) and Western Digital, will leverage his storage experience to lead the development of Cerabyte’s novel storage medium.
Campbell has achieved numerous accomplishments in his career, including implementing Shingled Magnetic recording (SMR) and drving the development and launch of the first Helium-filled hard drive. In addition to HGST and Western Digital, Steve was previously CEO of Singapore-based Magnecomp International, Thailand-based Magnecomp Precision Technology, and InnoTek Limited.
“I am excited for the opportunity to work with Cerabyte’s revolutionary technology and its passionate team dedicated to revolutionizing how we manage and protect data,” Campbell said. “Together, we will push the boundaries of what’s possible, delivering unparalleled solutions that will enhance the future of data storage.”
James Redfern
Data unification and management provider Reltio has appointed James Redfern as chief financial officer. Redfern, who previously was the CFO of Payscale, brings more than two decades of experience to the CFO position at Reltio, which had about $145 million in annual recurring revenue as of the end of July. He replaces the previous CFO, Gordon Brooks, who is retiring.
“We are thrilled to welcome James during this very exciting time for the company as we focus on driving continued growth and innovation,” Reltio CEO and Founder Manish Sood said. “James has extensive experience and a strong track record of leading global finance and technology organizations to deliver outstanding business outcomes. His many years of experience across strategic, financial, and operational roles will be invaluable as we accelerate our momentum and growth trajectory.”
Claire Fang
Fullstory, a provider of behavioral and sentiment data, has appointed Claire Fang as its new chief product officer. Fang comes to the Atlanta, Georgia company after stints at Facebook, Microsoft, Qualtrics, and SeekOut, and her main responsibility will be to harness the use of the company’s AI-driven autocapture technology to obtain the most accurate and detailed customer behavior data.
“I have seen first-hand the need for quality behavioral data in major enterprises and its power to enrich the online customer experience,” Fang said. “Fullstory’s unique strength is in capturing and deriving comprehensive, accurate customer behavioral data based on a user’s actions. We capture the highest quality and broadest behavioral footprint in the industry and I am excited to bring to market targeted solutions that address the needs of large enterprise businesses.”
Fernando Delgado
Lighthouse, a developer of eDiscovery, compliance, and information governance services, announced this month that Fernando Delgado has been promoted to senior director of AI and analytics. In his new role, Delgado will be charged with helping to develop the predictive and generative AI tech used by the Seattle company’s software.
“As the legal industry navigates the ethical and practical considerations around AI, a critical aspect of design must be human alignment,” said Delgado, who has a PhD in Information Science from Cornell University. “That alignment isn’t some abstract computational process but a social design-focused process – you achieve AI system alignment with human values by including the relevant humans in key moments of the design process from inception.”
Tejas Mehta
Business intelligence and analytics vendor Qlik has appointed industry veteran Tejas Mehta as its new senior vice president and general manager for the Middle East and Africa region. Mehta arrives at Qlik following a three-year stint at IT consultancy Sycomp and a 25-year career at IBM, where he finished up as the VP and GM for North, East, Centra and West Africa.
Qlik says the Middle East and Africa (MEA) is one of the fastest growing regions within its EMEA operations, and following Mehta’s appointment, the MEA region will operate as its own entity, Qlik said.
“I am excited to join Qlik and lead the sales efforts in the Middle East and Africa,” Mehta said. “The region is at the forefront of AI adoption, and there is a significant demand for data and analytics foundations to support this transformation. I look forward to working with our talented team to help organizations harness the full potential of AI.”
Amy Shapero
VAST Data, a fast-growing, closely watched data platform startup in New York, has appointed Amy Shapero to be its first CFO. Shapero comes to VAST from Shopify, where, as CFO, she helped guide the company from under $700 million in revenue to nearly $6 billion in less than five years.
Shapero joins an executive team headed by Renen Hallack, who this month
was named to the Datanami People to Watch list for 2024. Hallack lauded Shapero’s “extensive finance, strategy, and operating experience with disruptive, mission-driven, high-growth companies like ours,” and said he “looks forward to building this great company with her.”
“From my first conversations with Renen and the VAST leadership team, it was immediately clear to me that this is an exceptional company, with brilliant leadership and an incredible opportunity in front of us as AI’s impact grows,” Shapero said. “I’ve always been data-driven, and throughout my career I’ve helped companies to harness data for insights to improve their customer experience, innovate to build new products, and use economies of scale to create new value. VAST’s unique approach to delivering technology innovation and extraordinary customer outcomes is rare, and I look forward to helping grow our success across the globe.”
To read last month’s edition of Career Notes, click here.