Zhamak Dehghani

Questioner
DISC Type : c

CEO and Founder at Nextdata

San Francisco, California, United States

Overview

Zhamak Dehghani is the Founder and CEO of Nextdata, a startup focused on building data-mesh-native technologies. She is widely recognized as the creator of the Data Mesh concept, a paradigm-shifting approach to decentralized data architecture. An author and frequent speaker, she previously spent over a decade at Thoughtworks, focusing on distributed systems.

Originally from Iran, Zhamak now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. In interviews, she has shared her personal journey of growing up in Tehran and how those experiences shaped her drive to innovate and challenge existing paradigms in the technology world. She is an advocate for the decentralization of architecture, data, and power.

Unique fact: Zhamak conceptualized and defined the term "Data Mesh" in 2019, fundamentally changing how large organizations approach data management at scale.

Personality Overview

Cautious & Analytical

Not Easily Convinced

Price-Sensitive

While they don't hesitate to ask questions, they are generally risk-averse and tend to be late adopters.  They generally do not appreciate an overfriendly approach and prefer to stay to-the-point. They prefer to do thorough analysis of any situation.

Topics They Care About

Data Mesh
She originated the concept of Data Mesh, authored the seminal book on the topic, and founded Nextdata to build tools that accelerate its adoption.
Decentralized Systems
A core theme in her work, she advocates for decentralizing data architecture and governance to improve scalability and empower domain teams.
Data as a Product
She champions a cultural and technical shift to treat data as a product, owned and managed by domain teams to ensure quality and usability.

Media Appearances

Data Mesh with Zhamak Dehghani (CEO of Nextdata, creator of ...). Featured in Spotify

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Zhamak Dehghani, nextdata | Supercloud 7. Featured in YouTube

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The State of Data Mesh 2024 – with Zhamak Dehghani, Nextdata. Featured in BARC

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Work History

8-2022
CEO and Founder at Nextdata
7-2020 - 8-2022
Director of Next Tech Incubation NA | Member of Tech Advisory Boards at ThoughtWorks
11-2018 - 7-2020
NA Portfolio Tech Director | Tech Advisory Board Member at ThoughtWorks
2012 - 7-2020
Principal Consultant at ThoughtWorks
2005 - 6-2012
Principal Software Engineer at Silverbrook Reseach

Education

2008 - 2010
Master from University of Sydney
1991 - 1996
Bachelor of Engineering from Shahid Beheshti University

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 29 Location : San Francisco, California, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : CEO and Founder at Nextdata
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Insights For Selling To Zhamak

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Share as much information as possible regarding your product
  • Tell them that you will come back if you don’t have a good answer for a question
  • If you have a lower priced product compared to the competition, call out the same

DONT's

  • Don’t overhype the product/pitch, keep it measured
  • Avoid phrases like ‘do not worry about’, ‘no one compares to’ etc.
  • Don’t try to be too friendly or informal with them

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Zhamak is

  • Ensuring that the product delivers ROI, cost-effective pricing and process compliance are very important for them.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Zhamak

  • It doesn’t come naturally to them but they can say no if they are not convinced.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Zhamak move?

  • If they have the information that they need, they can move fast at making their decisions.
  • Can Zhamak take some risk or not?

  • They can take some risk if they are confident that they have analyzed the circumstances well.


You And Zhamak

Personality Compatibility


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