Tom Brady shares invaluable insights with Cloudera employees
At Elevate26 in Miami, Florida
Cloudera marked a new chapter for the company at its annual sales kick-off, Elevate26, held on February 11, 2025, in Miami, Florida, with a keynote from one of the greatest American athletes of all time – Tom Brady – the American football quarterback.
Speaking to an audience of over 700 Cloudera employees, Brady shared invaluable insights on leadership, teamwork, perseverance, and the mindset required for success in sports and business.
Brady, whose career has been a testament to resilience and excellence, offered attendees a rare opportunity to hear firsthand about his experiences, drawing parallels between high-performance sports and the business world.
Held at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach from February 10 to 13, Elevate26 was a vital event for Cloudera, setting the stage for the company’s new fiscal year.
Cloudera CEO Charles Sansbury and Chief Revenue Officer Frank O’Dowd interviewed Brady on stage, delving into his personal and professional journey. Brady emphasised the importance of maintaining a solution-first mindset, staying motivated despite challenges, and constantly striving to exceed expectations.
His advice resonated with Cloudera’s business strategies and goals for the upcoming year, further reinforcing the company’s dedication to continuous innovation and leadership in data and AI.
“Tom was the perfect keynote speaker for our team this week,” said O’Dowd. “His career is a shining example of commitment, excellence, and winning against all odds. At Cloudera, we share that same relentless drive to be the best. The insights he shared will help fuel our passion as we continue to lead the way in the AI and data space.”
Elevate26 was a particularly significant event for Cloudera, which celebrated a milestone achievement in 2024, surpassing $1 billion in revenue by the end of the year.
This success came as global demand for trusted AI and data management solutions surged. Cloudera made strategic investments in its platform to meet this demand, including acquiring Verta’s operational AI platform and Octopai’s data lineage and catalogue platform.
These acquisitions and the introduction of new AI assistants and a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) studio position Cloudera at the forefront of cutting-edge data technology.
Looking ahead, Sansbury clarified that 2024’s achievements were only the beginning. “As Tom said, never settle,” he noted.
“This mindset is exactly what we are taking into 2025 as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible for our customers. Cloudera is fully committed to delivering on our promise of enabling true hybrid solutions, supporting modern data architectures, and accelerating enterprise AI.”
Image: (L-R) Frank O’Dowd, Tom Brady, and Charles Sansbury in discussion on stage at Elevate26, held at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach resort on February 11, 2025. Credit: Cloudera
