Dec 26, 2024

(metamorworks/Shutterstock) It’s that time of month again–time for Big Data Career Notes, a monthly feature where we 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! Pat Gelsinger Pat Gelsinger Pat Gelsinger’s second stint at Intel ended abruptly this month when the 63-year-old CEO stepped down following poor financial results for the chipmaker. The Intel board has named David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus as interim co-CEOs while it seeks a permanent leader for the storied firm. “Leading Intel has been the honor of my lifetime,” Gelsinger said on his X account . “I am forever grateful for the many colleagues around the world who I have worked with as part of the Intel family and can look back with pride at all that we have accomplished together. Thank you all!” Gelsinger joined Intel out of college in 1985 and was the chief architect of the i486 processor. He was Intel’s CTO from 2001 to 2009, when he left to become the CEO of VMware and COO at EMC . He returned to Intel as CEO in 2021 with a goal to lead the company back to its place at the top of the chip ladder. But after two-and-a-half years, Gelsinger had failed to turn the company around. With a market capitalization of just $82 billion, Intel fails to crack the top 10 chipmakers in terms of market cap. It’s not only far behind GPU giant Nvidia –which, with a $3.2 trillion market cap, is the most valuable company in the world–but it’s also behind X86 rival AMD , with a $193 billion market cap. “On behalf of the board, I want to thank Pat for his many years of service and dedication to Intel across a long career in technology leadership,” Frank Yeary, the interim executive chairman of the board of Intel, said in a press release. “Pat spent his formative years at Intel, then returned at a critical time for the company in 2021.” Andy MacMillan Alteryx , the embattled Southern California analytics company, has appointed IT industry veteran Andy MacMillan to be its new chief executive officer. MacMillan will be tasked with driving Alteryx to “new heights” following the company’s collapse in the public market and subsequent sale to private equity firms. Andy MacMillan “Andy’s capabilities and past leadership success in leveraging AI to drive product innovation and developing high-performing teams at scaled enterprise software companies aligns well with our investment thesis, and we believe his leadership will help propel the Company to new heights,” said Prashant Mehrotra, a partner at Clearlake, which together with Insight Partners took Alteryx private 12 months ago in a $4.4 billion deal. MacMillan joins Alteryx from UserTesting , where he served as CEO. He also spent time as the Chairman and CEO of Act-On Software , Salesforce , Oracle , and Stellent. “Great companies are built on the foundational pillars of company culture and customer-centricity, and I’m delighted to join a company that follows this same philosophy,” MacMillan said in a press release. “Together with the team, we’ll lead Alteryx into its next phase of growth and product innovation to help our customers succeed in their analytics journey.” Baaziz Achou Baaziz Achour Mobile chip giant Qualcomm has promoted Baaziz Achou to be its new chief technology officer. He will formally take the CTO role on February 3, 2025, when the current CTO, James Thompson, retires. Qualcomm first hired Achour as a systems engineer back in 1993. Over the years, he has held various leadership positions in the engineering organization, accumulating 24 U.S. patents to his name. The company says Achour, who has been deputy CTO since 2023, has been “essential” in contributing to every generation of wireless tech since then. “Baaziz will continue to extend Qualcomm’s leadership in wireless communications, computing and AI. I look forward to partnering with Baaziz in his new role,” Cristiano Amon, the president and CEO of Qualcomm, said in a press release. “I want to thank Jim for his 33 years of considerable contributions to Qualcomm.” Piyush Verma Piyush Verma Coralogix , a provider of an AI-powered IT observability platform, Coralogix has brought in Piyush Verma to be its new head of product strategy. In his new role, Verma will drive product innovation and enhance customer experiences for Coralogix, which has grown by 10x over the past three years. “The observability space is experiencing a fundamental shift, and Coralogix is at the forefront of this transformation,” Verma said in a press release. “I’m excited to join a company that’s not just growing rapidly but is actively reshaping how modern organizations approach observability.” Andy Wild Andy Wild Database provider SingleStore has hired Andy Wild to be its new chief revenue officer. In this role, Wild will be responsible for leading the global sales teams for the company, which achieved $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) this year. Wild comes to SingleStore amid a 35-year career in IT, which includes senior executive roles at CA Technologies, OpTier (acquired by SAP), OpenText and IBM. “SingleStore offers an incredible product that’s deeply cherished by its user community, as it empowers them to bring their boldest, most innovative ideas to life,” Wild said. “I’m thrilled to take on the challenge of crafting growth strategies that will extend these benefits to even more users, while driving the company to new heights. I’m humbled to work alongside such a talented team, and I look forward to partnering with them to achieve our ambitious goals.” Hoang Vuong Hoang Vuong Distributed file system vendor WEKA has hired Hoang Vuong to be its new chief revenue officer. WEKA, which has more than $100 million in ARR and recently raised $140 million at a $1.6 billion valuation, has been growing quickly as companies face expanded data management needs driven by the AI boom. A seasoned technology executive, Vuong served as CFO at Amplitude Inc. from 2019 to 2023, helping to take the company public in September 2021. Before that, he was the chief operating officer and CFO of GoFundMe. He also held various leadership positions at Intuit, Demandforce, and Deloitte. “WEKA is leading the way in AI and GPU acceleration and is well positioned to ride the AI infrastructure wave,” said Vuong. “I’m beyond excited to join WEKA’s talented team and seize the opportunity ahead of us.” Pete Harteveld Pete Harteveld Cybersecurity firm Exabeam has tapped Pete Harteveld to be its new chief revenue officer. The appointment puts Harteveld in charge of what Exabeam boasts is “the world’s largest pure-play security analytics and security information and event management (SIEM) vendor.” Harteveld joined Exabeam earlier this year as part of its merger with LogRhythm. The executive has more than 20 year of experience in M&A and revenue leadership, including previous CRO roles at Aryaka and Veracode. “The cybersecurity industry is facing growing complexity, from increasing attack surfaces to a global shortage of skilled security professionals,” Harteveld said. “By optimizing how we deliver our solutions and ensuring seamless alignment with customer needs, we can empower teams to better detect and respond to threats, reduce risk, and focus on strategic priorities. I’m excited to lead the next chapter of growth for Exabeam and continue driving innovation in partnership with our talented team, customers, and partners.” To read last month’s edition of Career Notes, click here .