Snowflake, a pioneering Data Cloud company, has announced a strategic change in leadership. Frank Slootman, the company’s seasoned CEO, is set to retire, leaving Sridhar Ramaswamy as CEO. Ramaswamy will also join the Snowflake Board of Directors, bringing a fresh perspective to the company.
Ramaswamy, former Senior Vice President of AI at Snowflake, has been appointed to the new role. He was instrumental in the creation of Neeva, the world’s first private AI-powered search engine. His tenure began in May 2023, following the acquisition of Neeva. Under his leadership, Snowflake introduced Cortex, a service aimed at democratizing AI, simplifying and ensuring user security.
Frank Slootman, transitioning to serve as Chairman of the Board, expressed his confidence in Ramaswamy’s leadership. “As the leading cloud data platform, Snowflake is at the epicenter of the AI revolution,” Slootman remarked. He praised Ramaswamy as a “visionary technologist” with a robust track record of guiding successful businesses to scale and innovation. Slootman’s endorsement underscores a unanimous belief in Ramaswamy’s ability to steer Snowflake through its next growth phase, emphasizing AI and machine learning advancements.
Echoing Slootman’s sentiments, Ramaswamy shared his honor in being selected to lead Snowflake forward. “In the last 12 years, Frank and the entire team have established Snowflake as the leading cloud data platform, providing enterprises with the secure, scalable, and cost-effective data foundation and cutting-edge AI building blocks needed to build for the future,” stated Ramaswamy. He highlighted the significant opportunity lying ahead for Snowflake to empower customers with AI, aiming to deliver unparalleled business value. Ramaswamy’s vision for Snowflake involves accelerating innovation to benefit customers and partners alike.
Ramaswamy has extensive experience, having previously led Google’s Advertising products, which included search, display, and video advertising, analytics, commerce, payments, and travel. His 15-year employment at Google helped grow AdWords and the company’s advertising revenue from $1.5 billion to more than $100 billion. His experience also includes research positions at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, and Bell Communications Research (Bellcore), as well as a recent term as a Venture Partner at Greylock Partners.
Snowflake, led by Ramaswamy, is positioned to change the landscape of cloud data platforms by emphasising innovation, security, and AI’s transformational power. This leadership change represents an exciting new chapter for Snowflake, as the company continues to lead the way in enabling organisations to use cutting-edge technology for future-proof growth.
