Databricks hires ex-SAP exec to head APAC, Japan operations

Databricks, a San Francisco-based data and AI software company, said on April 20 it has appointed Simon Davies, a former SAP and Splunk executive, as senior vice president and general manager for Asia Pacific and Japan.

The move comes as the company expands its presence from Singapore.

The company said APJ revenue rose more than 85% year on year in its fourth quarter, its regional headcount now exceeds 1,500.

It will move later in 2026 into a 32,000-square-foot Singapore office at IOI Central Boulevard Towers that is four times larger than its current site.

Davies, most recently SAP’s regional president for Asia Pacific, will oversee strategy and operations across ASEAN, India, Japan, Korea, Greater China, and Australia and New Zealand.

🔗 Source: Databricks

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Databricks has spent years building in APJ

Simon Davies’ appointment speeds up a regional plan Databricks has pursued for years.
Databricks named Ed Lenta as Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) general manager in March 2020, which gave the region a leadership structure Davies now takes over 1.
The buildout also includes technical support, with a vice president of field engineering for Asia Pacific and Japan serving regional customers 2.
The market is large. Japan’s cloud analytics market brought in US$2.37 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach US$9.08 billion by 2030 3.

APJ is taking a larger role in Databricks growth

Revenue in the region is rising faster than Databricks’ global year-over-year growth of more than 65% in its fourth quarter 4.
Databricks is backing that push with more than US$7 billion in investment, including about US$5 billion in equity financing at a US$134 billion valuation and about US$2 billion in added debt capacity 4.
Spending on local infrastructure, along with regional marketing and technical vice presidents, sets a high bar for rivals 5.
Enterprise software companies now face pressure to move past small sales outposts and commit more people and infrastructure across Asia Pacific and Japan to compete for enterprise AI contracts 6.