Snowflake, a leading data cloud company, has made a strategic move by appointing Sridhar Ramaswamy as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. This announcement comes after Snowflake’s acquisition of Neeva, an AI-powered private search engine co-founded by Ramaswamy in 2019, aiming to offer a privacy-focused alternative to traditional search engines.
Before joining Snowflake, Ramaswamy was recognized for his significant contributions at Google, where he led the advertising division, playing a pivotal role in its growth from $1.5 billion to over $100 billion in revenue. His experience spans various prestigious organizations, including Bell Labs and Lucent Technologies, and he has served as a venture partner at Greylock Partners.
Sridhar is an alumni of IIT Madras (1985-89).
Ramaswamy’s appointment is seen as a part of Snowflake’s broader strategy to enhance its artificial intelligence capabilities, including the launch of Snowflake Cortex, a managed service aimed at simplifying and securing AI use for business acceleration. The acquisition of Neeva by Snowflake is not only a testament to the innovative search technologies developed by Neeva but also highlights the potential for these technologies to revolutionize search and conversation within Snowflake’s platform. With Ramaswamy at the helm, Snowflake aims to further solidify its position in the data cloud sector, especially in providing AI and machine learning solutions to its vast customer base, which includes a significant portion of the Forbes Global 2000 companies as of early 2024.
Frank Slootman, the outgoing CEO, will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board, ensuring a smooth transition and continuity in leadership. Slootman’s endorsement of Ramaswamy underscores confidence in his ability to navigate Snowflake through its next phase of growth, particularly in the rapidly evolving fields of AI and machine learning. Ramaswamy’s commitment to innovation and delivering value through AI aligns with Snowflake’s mission, setting the stage for exciting developments in the data cloud ecosystem.
