A Clear Vision and Path to Execution: Why I Joined Databricks

I recently had the opportunity to join Databricks as SVP of Corporate Development and Product Partnerships and wanted to share some perspective on why I’m thrilled to embark on such an incredible journey.

I’ve been fortunate enough in my career to have worked at two generational software companies, Salesforce and Atlassian, and I’m convinced that Databricks has the opportunity to be the most strategic company in the enterprise software landscape.

At Salesforce, I had the opportunity to witness the power of the cloud in building customer connectivity; Atlassian demonstrated how important collaborative tools are to developing software and enhancing productivity across every company. Both companies had massive tailwinds as customers of all sizes sought out solutions to embrace software that ensured they could maintain competitive differentiation.

Databricks is helping organizations leverage their most important asset - data, in all of its forms - to maintain competitive differentiation and drive massive amounts of value for their customers. By simplifying and democratizing data through the Lakehouse Platform, Databricks has an opportunity to be the most important platform to support all data-driven aspects of the modern enterprise. From Comcast to J.B. Hunt to SEGA Europe, Databricks can help its customers thrive.

Aside from the massive opportunity (and limitless TAM) in front of us, there are a few other reasons that made this move a no brainer:

Incredible talent

Founder-led companies are special places to work. Having 7 founders still building Databricks is a testament to the opportunity in front of us. Founder-led means consistency in the vision and, as a result, a clear path to execution. The talent that Databricks has attracted is immensely knowledgeable and focused on making an impact for Databricks and its customers. In some ways, it’s daunting to be surrounded by such incredible people, each intrinsically focused on maintaining our innovation velocity for our customers and partners.

The company lives by its values, is deeply transparent and focused on execution - all critical ingredients in driving towards the massive opportunity we have in front of us.

Customer obsessed

We’re nothing without our customers. And while every company claims to be “customer-obsessed,” Databricks has made it part of its DNA. The pace of innovation required to bring together data scientists, data engineers, and business users is no small feat, and we’re delivering it to ensure our customers are able to drive relevant differentiation. With more than 5,000 customers across industries benefiting from our Lakehouse platform, even in these early innings, we’re helping bring the power of data, analytics, and AI - all operating within one platform - to companies across the globe.

A massive community and ecosystem

Databricks recognizes, and even celebrates, how critical partners are to success. The ecosystem around us is incredible and ripe for growth. Partner Connect became generally available in November 2021, highlighting how Databricks is building a world-class ecosystem to deliver the best solutions possible for our customers. Moreover, having a keen eye toward increasing our momentum with Databricks Ventures, which invests in innovative companies that share our view of the future for data, analytics and AI, and selectively pursuing innovation through M&A, we have the opportunity to be incredibly strategic in how we can work with other companies to provide value to our customers.

Come join us

Given our ambition, we’re looking to continue to invest aggressively in building across all of our teams! Visit our career page to explore our global opportunities and to learn more about our people and the impact we’re making around the world.