Matillion, the AI data automation company, has appointed veteran enterprise data executive Girish Pancha as its new chief executive.
He’ll succeed founder Matthew Scullion, who will remain an ‘active member of the company’s board of directors’.
The company has also appointed Sanjay Krishnamurthi as its new chief development officer.
Scullion, who co-founded Matillion with Ed Thompson in 2011, said: “The handover is real: Girish is the CEO, the company is his to lead, and he has my complete support.
“I am immensely proud of what the Matillion team has built and deeply confident about the opportunity ahead.”
Matillion achieved unicorn status in 2021 when a $150m Series E funding round took its valuation beyond the magical $1bn mark.
Writing on LinkedIn, Scullion said: “This is an important moment for Matillion – and one driven by ambition for what comes next.
“The data industry is entering a profound new phase. AI is transforming how software is built and how businesses operate, but its success depends on trusted, governed and continuously evolving enterprise data.
“That is the opportunity Maia was built to address. Maia uses AI to automate the critical work of enterprise data teams: creating, governing and operating the data products that power analytics, operations and AI itself. We believe this represents a major new category – AI data automation – and a very significant opportunity for Matillion.
“The foundations are strong. Maia is in market and growing quickly. Matillion has more than $100m in recurring revenue, a global customer base, a strengthened leadership team and a clear strategic direction.
“The next phase is about accelerating from that foundation: expanding our reach, deepening our partnerships, establishing the category and scaling execution across product, engineering and go-to-market.
“Girish is exceptionally well suited to lead that work. He has spent his career in enterprise data, including senior roles at Oracle and Informatica, and built StreamSets from its beginnings into a category-leading company through to acquisition. He combines the instincts of a founder with deep experience of our market, customers and ecosystem.
All change: Girish Pancha and Sanjay Krishnamurthi have joined Matillion
“Girish and I have known each other professionally for several years. I was closely involved in his appointment, I rate him enormously, and I am genuinely excited that he has agreed to lead Matillion.
“Sanjay brings equally formidable experience. He has helped shape enterprise data platforms through leadership roles at Informatica, Microsoft and Google, and will lead Matillion’s product and engineering organisations, working with co-founder Ed Thompson and Frank Weigal, as we continue to develop Maia.
“Together, Girish and Sanjay add tremendous experience, relationships and technical depth to an already outstanding team.”
New chapter
Pancha said: “Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for me. I’m joining Matillion as CEO.
“I’ve spent my career in data – from building Oracle Discoverer to spending 15 years at Informatica and founding and selling StreamSets. Along the way, I’ve lived through every major shift in enterprise data over the past four decades. Several reshaped the industry. This one is the biggest yet.
“Data engineering is becoming autonomous. That’s why I’ve joined Matillion.
“Enterprises will rely on autonomous AI agents to create, govern and continuously evolve data products. When I saw what the Matillion team had built with Maia, I realised I was looking at the beginning of a new era in enterprise data.
“Maia isn’t simply another evolution of data integration – it represents a fundamentally different approach to creating, governing and evolving data products for the AI era.
“I’m also thrilled to welcome Sanjay Krishnamurthi as Matillion’s chief development officer. Few people have shaped modern enterprise data platforms the way Sanjay has, and I’m excited to partner with him again to accelerate Maia’s product and engineering vision.
“Most importantly, a thank you to Matthew Scullion for building such a great company and a strong foundation and for his partnership during this transition. I’m fortunate to have this rare opportunity to build on exceptional technology, a stellar customer base and an outstanding team.
“The future of data engineering will look very different from its past. I’m excited to help shape what’s next.”
- Matthew Scullion was recently interviewed on The Naked Founder podcast. You can listen here