Early Life and Education

Olivier Pomel, a French native, developed a passion for technology early in life. He earned his Master’s degree in computer science from Ecole Centrale Paris, one of France’s top engineering institutions, where he met Alexis Lê-Quôc, his future business partner and co-founder. This connection would later play a critical role in their shared entrepreneurial journey.

Early Career and Experience

Pomel began his career as a software engineer, holding positions at IBM Research and several internet startups. His early work in the tech industry laid the foundation for his expertise in building robust, scalable systems. He also contributed to the development of the popular VLC media player during this time, showcasing his skills in software engineering and innovation.

Pomel later joined Wireless Generation, a New York-based education technology company, as Vice President of Technology. In this role, he spearheaded the development of data systems for K-12 teachers and played a pivotal role in growing the engineering team from a small group to nearly 100 top-tier engineers. His work helped support educational initiatives like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. When Wireless Generation was acquired by News Corp in 2010, Pomel and Lê-Quôc, who had worked together at the company, decided it was time to build something of their own.

Founding Datadog

In 2010, Olivier Pomel co-founded Datadog with Alexis Lê-Quôc in New York City. They sought to solve a major issue in the tech world—bridging the gap between developer and operations teams, who often struggled with disjointed workflows. Datadog emerged as a cloud infrastructure monitoring platform designed to provide real-time insights through dashboards, alerts, and visualizations. Its comprehensive approach simplified operations for developers and administrators alike, especially as cloud adoption accelerated globally.

Under Pomel’s leadership as CEO, Datadog grew rapidly. The company became a key player in monitoring services across multiple cloud providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Datadog expanded its offerings to support DevOps and observability, helping businesses improve the reliability and performance of their infrastructure.

Datadog’s Rise to Success

Datadog’s success was catapulted when it went public on the Nasdaq in September 2019. The initial public offering (IPO) raised nearly $650 million, giving Datadog a market capitalization of $10.9 billion on its first day of trading. Olivier Pomel’s strategic vision and technical expertise were instrumental in this achievement, positioning Datadog as one of the leading cloud monitoring platforms in the world.

In May 2020, Pomel and Lê-Quôc became billionaires after a highly successful earnings release sent Datadog’s stock soaring. Pomel retains a 4% stake in the company, underscoring his ongoing commitment to Datadog’s long-term growth and success.

Personal and Professional Philosophy

Pomel’s career is marked by his deep understanding of systems thinking and his ability to streamline complex technological processes. His expertise in DevOps, aimed at shortening the systems development life cycle, has contributed to Datadog’s ability to continuously deliver high-quality software improvements.

Beyond his technical skills, Pomel is known for his leadership and dedication to building strong teams. His vision for Datadog as a tool that empowers developers and IT operations teams has shaped the company’s culture of innovation and customer-centric solutions.

Legacy and Future

As CEO of Datadog, Olivier Pomel has guided the company from its humble beginnings to a globally recognized leader in cloud monitoring and analytics. Today, Datadog serves thousands of companies around the world, helping them improve their cloud infrastructure’s performance and security.

Pomel’s journey, from a software engineer to a visionary CEO, is a testament to his dedication to solving real-world problems through technology. His leadership at Datadog continues to inspire innovation in the cloud computing space, ensuring the company remains at the forefront of the industry for years to come.