This is the first in a series of blogs from Dataminr President and COO Brian Gumbel where he shares the exciting journey he’s had since joining Dataminr, highlighting both the initial challenges and the proactive strategies the company is implementing to achieve operational excellence.
As I reflect on my first six months as president and COO at Dataminr, I feel compelled to share not just my thoughts, but also my heartfelt appreciation for the journey we’ve embarked on together. This blog series will touch on the challenges encountered, as well as the remarkable strides made as a team.
First and foremost, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to our executive team, led by our inspiring CEO and Founder, Ted Bailey, along with our exceptional board. Their unwavering support has been greatly reassuring and I am truly thankful for their confidence in my leadership.
Moreover, I am immensely proud of our Dataminr family. The skill, talent and dedication each of them has shown is nothing short of remarkable. They are the heartbeat of our organization, and their hard work and commitment are the driving forces behind everything we’ve accomplished. I am genuinely excited to continue this journey with such an extraordinary group of individuals, and I look forward to what we will achieve together in the future.
Rapid growth
When I was first introduced to Dataminr and its CEO and Founder, Ted Bailey, I was absolutely impressed by the groundbreaking AI technology behind the products. Ted’s passion for the technology, combined with the incredible skillset of the team, and the excellence of the products themselves, was inspiring. I knew that with a few adjustments to the go-to-market strategy, we’d be unstoppable.
When I joined Dataminr, the company had recently undergone a restructuring, a common theme for many tech companies in recent years. While many were focused on rapid growth due to market pressures, Dataminr embraced a more cost conscious approach. I truly empathized with the team during this transition, as they navigated the complexities of workforce changes—a challenging yet transformative time. I saw my role as a navigator, helping to propel the team forward into an exciting new phase of rebuilding and growth.
Now, as we enter a dynamic build-up phase, we are experiencing remarkable growth! I’ve outlined new growth trajectories, and thanks to our strategic investments, our cyber product, Dataminr Pulse for Cyber Risk, has exceeded our expectations in its performance.
While the speed of our growth is an outstanding achievement, I recognized the opportunity to refine our growth strategies to ensure we are set up for ongoing operational success. One of my first priorities was to present a comprehensive long-term plan to the board, ensuring we have the right resources and a robust support strategy in place to guide this rapid growth in the right trajectory.
Right now, we’re planning our operational rigor with keeping the future in mind. And we want to operate today as if we are already a public company.
Operational excellence
As a leader, it’s one of my main objectives to achieve operational excellence. To get there, we are building the rhythm of the business by putting processes in place that ensure smooth operations and consistent momentum. It’s not just about maintaining the status quo, but about setting ourselves up for long-term success. Right now, we’re planning our operational rigor with keeping the future in mind. And we want to operate today as if we are already a public company.
This period is essentially our “practice round” to make sure everything is buttoned up before we go public. The idea is to treat today’s operations as a preparation for that future, ensuring that by the time we reach the IPO stage, we are already performing at a high level of operational excellence. Every decision we make and every process we refine today plays a crucial role in achieving our long-term vision.
In practical terms, this is evident in how we’ve been showing up on the global stage over the past few months. This year was only the second time we attended the RSA Conference, but we knocked it out of the park. It was also our first time at Black Hat, where we excelled. We held a fireside chat that exceeded capacity, clearly demonstrating the overwhelming interest around our products.
I’m writing this now, fresh off the back of the GSX event, where—despite Hurricane Helene causing some folks to limit their attendance—we were fully booked for meetings with prospects, clients and partners. The team just did an epic job and absolutely crushed all of our targets!
Building teams
Hiring is a critical part of achieving this operational excellence. I’m deeply involved in the hiring process because I believe it’s essential not only to fill positions, but to build a team that aligns with our values and goals.
One of my top priorities is ensuring that we don’t simply recreate a “2.0 version” of one of the companies I’ve worked for in the past. When leaders repeatedly “copy and paste” hire the same people, it creates cliques and stifles diversity, leaving some employees feeling excluded. I believe this approach is harmful, not only to the culture but also to the level of collaboration and openness within the company.
Instead, my goal is to hire the best person for the job at the time. Bringing in talent from a wide range of industries and companies injects fresh perspectives and innovative ideas into our team. I love the process of assembling a diverse, dynamic team and I’m very hands-on in the hiring process, especially at the final interview stage—this is where it’s so important to connect with the candidates.
This approach not only ensures we’re bringing in the right people but also fosters a culture of openness and collaboration, where everyone feels empowered to contribute. It’s a crucial aspect of creating the kind of innovative and forward-thinking environment that will support our journey to operational excellence and beyond.
With the foundations for operational excellence now firmly in place, we’ll build on this momentum heading into 2025. But operational excellence—while a key cornerstone of success for any organization—has not been my only focus in these initial months.
As a leader, I’m passionate about creating company culture. It’s extremely important to me to foster an open, fun and collaborative environment. In my next blog, I’ll dive into my vision for Dataminr’s future and how I’m building a fun, collaborative culture that empowers #TeamDataminr to excel. I’ll also outline the key tactics and strategies I’m putting in place to ensure Dataminr’s success as we move forward on this exciting journey!
