Big Data Career Notes: May 2023 Edition

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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!

Ryan Aytay

Ryan Aytay was named president and chief executive officer of Tableau, a Salesforce company.  Aytay has been with Salesforce for 16 years most recently serving as Tableau’s chief revenue officer.

“I’m excited to continue to work directly with the community, our customers, our partners, and our employees, not only to be inspired but to lead them to the next horizon,” Aytay said in a Salesforce blog post. “The next horizon includes Salesforce and our Data Cloud but also continues to build on Tableau’s core foundation of helping people see and understand data. I also see many opportunities to bring Tableau to more Salesforce customers, empowering them to be more data-driven across their CRM experiences. Every company needs to be data-driven, and the companies that succeed in the future will be those who can harness their data, apply AI, visualize, and act.”

Jon Bakke 

ScyllaDB, the database for data-intensive apps that require high throughput and predictable low latency, appointed Jon Bakke as its chief revenue officer. Bakke brings over 20 years of experience to ScyllaDB. Most recently, he served as the CRO of MariaDB. He’s also served in leadership roles at Oracle and MarkLogic.

“I’ve been watching ScyllaDB gain increasing traction as the go-to NoSQL database for demanding use cases,” Bakke said. “And with the insatiable demand for AI/ML-driven personalization,  real-time virtual interactions, IoT device use, extensive fraud and threat detection, and so on … the market is clearly moving right into ScyllaDB’s sweet spot. It’s fundamentally architected to excel with what’s next.”

Michelle Bonat

AI Squared, a low-code AI integration platform company, appointed Michelle Bonat as its chief technology officer. Bonat will be responsible for all technology – software engineering, data science, AI research – as well as IT, and product management. She joins the company from JPMorgan Chase where she served as a CTO and AI executive at Chase.

“Michelle’s expertise in AI will be invaluable as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible and revolutionize the industry,” said Benjamin Harvey, CEO of AI Squared. “Together, we will build a future where AI is not just a buzzword, but a transformative force for good and step change for organizations.”

Nathaniel Crook

Amplitude, Inc., a digital analytics platform company, appointed Nathaniel Crook as the company’s next chief revenue officer. With over 20 years of enterprise software sales and engineering experience, Crook will lead Amplitude’s sales and partner organizations globally.

“As organizations increasingly rely on technology to drive strategy and fuel growth, companies across all industries and segments need to build digital platforms and experiences that their customers love,” said Crook. “As an essential part of the modern technology stack, our market is enormous and continues to rapidly grow. With a best-in-class product suite and a world-class team, I’m thrilled to join Amplitude and excited about our future.”

Helen Johnson

Appen Limited appointed Helen Johnson as its chief financial officer. Johnson brings with her a wealth of experience of more than 25 years leading finance organizations across a variety of industries, including privately held IT Managed Service providers, medium-sized public healthcare and financial services companies, and Fortune 500-ranked publicly traded corporations in the IT industry.

“I have a passion for building teams and delivering results,” Johnson said. “I am honored to join Armughan and the team to realize the strategic opportunity ahead for Appen.”

Ariel Katz

Sisense promoted Ariel Katz to the role of chief executive officer. Katz previously served as Sisense’s chief products and technology officer and general manager of Israel. He brings over 25 years of experience in technology and large enterprise cloud products, having also played a leading role at Microsoft in establishing and building Power BI.

“I am honored to be leading Sisense into its next era of growth, building on a strong foundation that includes a rich embed platform, $150M ARR, a solid customer base, and positive EBITDA. This will allow us to thrive in the coming years regardless of economic conditions,” said Katz. “Over the last two years, Amir and I have developed a strong partnership and friendship. I appreciate Amir’s leadership and look forward to working with him in his new capacity as Chairman.”

Mark McLaughlin

Snowflake, the data cloud company, appointed Mark McLaughlin to its board of directors. From 2011 until 2018, McLaughlin served as chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Palo Alto Networks, a global cybersecurity company, and as vice chairman of the board until December 2022. From 2009 through 2011, McLaughlin served as president and chief executive officer of VeriSign, Inc., a provider of internet infrastructure services.

“Snowflake is uniquely positioned to address the data needs of today’s enterprises and has already seen immense success revolutionizing how many of the world’s largest organizations unlock data for business value,” McLaughlin said. “Snowflake’s exponential growth to-date is only the beginning. I am honored to join the Snowflake Board and look forward to helping the company advance its strategic vision in service of its customers.”

Tony Owens

SnapLogic appointed Tony Owens, former President at Salesforce and senior executive at Oracle, to its board of directors. Owens will work closely with company leadership to guide strategy and identify new growth and sales opportunities.

“It’s a privilege to join SnapLogic’s board of directors as the company enters its next stage of growth,” said Owens. “SnapLogic has already established itself as a leader in enterprise integration and automation with proven success across major verticals. I look forward to working with the team to continue to drive innovation, expand the global footprint, and reach even more customers to help propel their business success.”

Yamini Rangan and Min Wang

Splunk Inc., the cybersecurity and observability leader, appointed Yamini Rangan to the company’s board of directors. Rangan serves as president, chief executive officer and director of HubSpot, a public software company that helps customers grow and scale through its CRM platform. She also brings more than 25 years of experience in product marketing, sales and strategy, including customer-facing roles at industry leaders like Dropbox, Workday and SAP.

In addition, Splunk Inc. appointed Min Wang as its chief technology officer. Most recently, she spent more than five years at Google, where she led a team responsible for critical components of the company’s AI-driven Google Assistant. Prior to Google, Wang served as the SVP of Visa Research. She has also held research leadership roles for Google Research, HP Labs, and IBM Research.

Spencer Tuttle

Redis, the real-time data platform provider, appointed Spencer Tuttle as its chief revenue officer. Tuttle will be responsible for overseeing the company’s global sales, alliances, and customer success teams with a focus on driving efficient revenue growth.

“Redis is perfectly set up to help companies propel themselves in their markets by delivering new experiences to users, driven by the surge in AI-infused applications,” said Tuttle. “With an incredibly talented team, Redis has been driving real-time technology and a trusted partner to global enterprises. Building on this foundation, I believe we’re in a prime position to capture an even larger piece of the market and be one of the leading independent database companies for the next decade.”

Jill Woodworth and David Chao

Alation Inc., provider of enterprise data intelligence solutions, appointed Jill Woodworth as its chief financial officer. Woodworth previously served as CFO of Peloton, where she oversaw global finance operations and guided the company through its IPO. Before Peloton, Jill was Managing Director at JP Morgan, advising companies on M&A, financings, and IPOs.

In addition, David Chao joined Alation as its chief marketing officer. Chao brings more than 15 years of experience developing and scaling go-to-market strategies for B2B enterprise SaaS companies. He most recently served as VP of Marketing at Datadog, which he joined after the company’s acquisition of Sqreen.

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.