CxO of the Week: Cloud Expert and CTO of Cloudera, Amr Awadallah

Amr Awadallah is the CTO and co-founder of Cloudera, a software company that specialises in data engineering, data warehousing, machine learning and analytics through the use of cloud technology. With data being at the forefront of the modern-world, cloud technology has become essential in the development of businesses, which is where Cloudera steps in. Initially, Awadallah had dreams to become a teacher in Egypt. This all changed when he did his PhD at Stanford University. After attending lectures on entrepreneurship, Awadallah created his first startup which he sold to Yahoo! a year later. He stayed with Yahoo! until 2008 as VP Engineering for Product Intelligence. Noticing how much data had been generated in recent years and how little of it had been analysed, Awadallah saw an opportunity. In August 2008, Awadallah founded Cloudera.

How does Cloudera use data?

Cloudera takes any type of data at any volume and performs any form of analysis. This means that it keeps all data on one database and can organise it in a structured, clean and efficient method, thus avoiding the problem of data silos. Take for instance the new implementation of GDPR. For many companies, analysing every individualised piece of data is quite difficult. With Cloudera, a company can have all of their data transferred onto one system and have every violation of GDPR automatically tagged in order to avoid fines and penalties. Cloudera also recognises the importance of cybersecurity in the modern age. They have created solutions incorporating big data analytics that help to overcome the problems that many companies face.

Awadallah's Humanitarian Ethos

Awadallah fully believes in having respect for his employees. He believes that even in situations when someone has to be fired, respect is essential. He also strongly believes in giving people a chance to rectify their behaviour before the decision is made.