Starburst has appointed Paras Malhotra as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to lead the company's security and risk management strategies. Malhotra will oversee Starburst's information security, governance, risk and compliance (GRC), and product security for its SaaS and on-premises solutions. This move aligns with Starburst's commitment to advancing its AI and data security capabilities.
Working closely with engineering, product, and go-to-market (GTM) teams, Malhotra will bolster Starburst's security initiatives. His role is essential as Starburst enhances its AI-native capabilities for the enterprise market. Malhotra's expertise is expected to significantly contribute to the company's AI security strategy.
Extensive Experience in Cloud-Native Companies
Malhotra brings over 20 years of experience in developing security, compliance, and privacy programs for fast-growing SaaS and cloud-native companies. As AI technologies become more integrated into business operations, Malhotra's insight will be crucial in shaping Starburst's data protection and enterprise resilience strategies.
"As enterprises scale AI and modernize their data infrastructure, security and trust have never been more critical," noted Jitender Aswani, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Security. "Paras brings deep experience building and scaling security programs for some of the world's leading cloud and SaaS companies. His leadership will help ensure Starburst continues to deliver the secure, enterprise-grade platform our customers need to power their most important data and AI initiatives."
Previous Roles and Accomplishments
Before joining Starburst, Malhotra was the Senior Director of Information Security at Datadog
Before joining Starburst, Malhotra was the Senior Director of Information Security at Datadog. In this position, he led security initiatives focusing on customer trust, risk management, and security monitoring. His collaboration with product and engineering teams supported the growth of security operations and AI governance in regulated sectors.
Prior to Datadog, Malhotra spent nearly a decade at Amazon Web Services (AWS), serving as Principal Manager for AWS Security Assurance. There, he developed strategies and tools for security assurance across AWS infrastructure, improving vulnerability detection and compliance readiness on a large scale.
Responding to Sophisticated Threats
"Organizations today are navigating increasingly sophisticated threats while also rapidly operationalizing AI," Malhotra remarked. "Starburst sits at the center of some of the most important enterprise data and AI initiatives in the world. I'm excited to join the company at this pivotal moment and help strengthen the security, privacy, and governance foundations that enable customers to innovate with confidence."
Malhotra is renowned for his ability to create scalable security frameworks and engineering teams that foster innovation while maintaining customer trust and compliance in the ever-evolving cloud and AI sectors.
Starburst, an enterprise intelligence platform, announced the appointment of Paras Malhotra as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). In this role, Malhotra leads Starburst’s information security, governance, risk and compliance (GRC), and product security across the company’s SaaS and on-premises offerings.
Malhotra partners closely with engineering, product, and go-to-market (GTM) teams to strengthen the company’s security posture. This supports Starburst’s growing focus on AI and data security as it brings AI-native capabilities to the enterprise.
Cloud-native companies
Malhotra joins Starburst with more than 20 years of experience designing, building, and scaling security, compliance, and privacy programs for high-growth SaaS and cloud-native companies. As companies operationalise AI and manage increasingly complex data environments, Malhotra will help drive Starburst’s strategy around AI security, data protection, customer trust, and enterprise resilience.
“As enterprises scale AI and modernise their data infrastructure, security and trust have never been more critical,” said Jitender Aswani, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Security. “Paras brings deep experience building and scaling security programs for some of the world’s leading cloud and SaaS companies. His leadership will help ensure Starburst continues to deliver the secure, enterprise-grade platform our customers need to power their most important data and AI initiatives.”
Information security organization
Prior to joining Starburst, Malhotra served as Senior Director of Information Security at Datadog, where he led the company’s information security organization, focusing on customer trust, proactive risk management, and continuous security monitoring to support growth across commercial and enterprise markets. He also partnered closely with product and engineering teams to scale security operations, compliance, privacy, and AI governance programs in support of regulated industries.
Before Datadog, Malhotra spent nearly a decade at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in senior security leadership roles, including Principal Manager for AWS Security Assurance. There, he led the engineering strategy and product roadmap for security assurance initiatives across AWS infrastructure, building scalable tooling and automation to proactively identify and remediate security and compliance risks. His teams developed systems that improved vulnerability detection, risk assessment, and remediation workflows at enterprise scale while enhancing operational efficiency and compliance readiness across the organization.
Increasingly sophisticated threats
“Organizations today are navigating increasingly sophisticated threats while also rapidly operationalising AI,” said Malhotra. “Starburst sits at the center of some of the most important enterprise data and AI initiatives in the world. I’m excited to join the company at this pivotal moment and help strengthen the security, privacy, and governance foundations that enable customers to innovate with confidence.”
Malhotra brings a track record of building scalable security programs and high-performing engineering teams that enable innovation while strengthening customer trust, compliance, and enterprise resilience in rapidly evolving cloud and AI environments.
