Acceldata, a multidimensional Data Observability Cloud platform, announced that Sanjay Poonen, a technology executive with more than 25 years of experience leading enterprise software companies, such as VMWare, SAP, and Informatica, has joined the company as an advisor and angel investor.
Poonen joins investment firms Insight Partners, March Capital, Lightspeed, Sorenson Ventures, and Emergent Ventures as Acceldata investors. Acceldata closed a $35 million funding round in September 2021 to further expand its capabilities across data quality, data pipeline monitoring, and system infrastructure.
Sanjay Poonen will provide advice on product and go-to-market strategy as Acceldata expands its Data Observability Cloud capabilities and scales growth internationally.
“I’ve been impressed with Acceldata’s focus on providing automation and comprehensive data observability tools to help data engineers,” said Poonen. “Data is the new oil of our economy, and data engineers are the unsung heroes of modern data platforms, yet many still don’t have the tools they need to do their jobs efficiently at scale. I’m delighted to help Rohit Choudhary and the Acceldata team create their Data Observability Cloud to help enterprises observe, operate, and optimize data pipelines and realize the potential of their data investments.”
As an executive leader, Poonen was a key player in driving massive growth for several of enterprise technology’s most innovative companies. In role as COO of VMware, Poonen led efforts to double revenue from $6 billion to $12 billion as he oversaw all business functions, including sales, services, and marketing, and orchestrated multi-cloud deals with AWS, Azure, and Google.
Prior to VMware, Poonen served as President of SAP from 2006-2013, where he ran Analytics, Big Data, and Industry Solutions, and helped grow SAP revenues from $10 billion to $20 billion. Poonen also has extensive board and advisory experience at companies like Zoom, Docusign, Infor, and Snyk, which will prove invaluable to Acceldata in its next phase of expansion.
“Sanjay has guided many of the technology industry’s most successful companies through every stage of growth,” said Rohit Choudhary, CEO and Co-Founder of Acceldata. “His experience has helped companies create categories and identify new opportunities. I’m excited to work with him as an Acceldata advisor and key member of our growing team.”
