The Data T

Armon Petrossian and Satish Jayanthi
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Previously known as Coffee with Coalesce, The Data T is a monthly podcast hosted by Armon Petrossian and Satish Jayanthi, co-founders of Coalesce, the data transformation company. Each month, we invite industry experts, entrepreneurs, and executives to spill the tea on the data industry's hottest topics: from data modeling and data ops to AI and LLMs, data engineering trends and predictions, datapreneurship, and more.

  1. 10/30/2025

    Gleb Mezhanskiy on Rewriting the Migration Playbook with AI

    Data migrations have long been the costly, painful bottleneck of modernization, dragging on for years and carrying multi-million-dollar price tags. But AI is already flipping that script. Gleb Mezhanskiy, founder & CEO of Datafold, who has been deep in the trenches of AI-driven migrations, joins us on the Data T podcast to unpack how AI automation is finally making it realistic to move off entrenched legacy ETL tools. Drawing on his years as a hands-on data engineer and PM (including leading a massive migration initiative at Lyft), Gleb explains where migrations go off the rails: millions of lines of legacy code and lack of automation lead to massive human time sunk into reconciliation and QA. He shares how Datafold attacks the problem end-to-end, using agents and data diffing to translate and validate at scale, so teams can “lift and shift” quickly, then refactor with confidence on modern stacks like Snowflake and Coalesce. Beyond migrations, Gleb and podcast host, Coalesce co-founder and CEO Armon Petrossian, dig into how AI is reshaping data engineering itself. They argue AI won’t replace great engineers; it elevates them, shifting work from tedious rewrites to higher-leverage design, governance, and outcomes. The teams that master AI-assisted workflows, evaluation, and modern patterns will widen the gap, moving from weeks of manual effort to rapid, continuous delivery. Key Topics Data migration challengesThe role of AI in data migrationsLimitations of generic AI tools and LLM models for migration projectsHow AI is reshaping data engineering rolesPredictions for data infrastructureAI for productivity

    42 min

  2. 10/14/2025

    The AI-Ready Data Team with Erik Duffield

    This month on The Data T, we sit down with Erik Duffield, CEO and co-founder of Hakkoda, now an IBM Company, to unpack the latest hot topic in our industry: AI-ready data. Everyone’s talking about it, but what does it really take to build an AI-ready data team or data practice? AI-readiness isn’t about the latest tool, it’s about a mindset shift. Duffield shares why data programs must now be designed for machines as primary consumers, how data governance has evolved from a blocker to an enabler, and why the speed of iteration, not a single big launch, is the real measure of success. Duffield touches on agentic AI in production, the future of data careers, and what 2026 may hold for both the AI market and enterprise adoption. Co-hosted by Coalesce cofounders Armon Petrossian and Satish Jayanthi Key topics: What does an AI-ready data program look like?Gaps between hype and reality in AI initiativesWhat keeps data leaders up at night?Data security concernsData team composition and reskilling for AI successLabor force shifts and career progression challengesHow do you define and measure trusted, AI-ready data?Top data trends and predictions for 2006 Resources: About Hakkoda, an IBM Company: https://hakkoda.io/ About Coalesce: https://coalesce.io/ Coalesce is the only data transformation and governance platform designed for the AI era. Built on a metadata-driven framework, Coalesce gives data teams the speed to build and deploy transformations 10× faster—while enforcing the standards, structure, and governance needed to scale sustainably. With Coalesce Catalog, transformation and metadata management come together in a single solution, enabling discovery, trust, and collaboration across the business. Whether accelerating AI-assisted migrations from legacy tools or future-proofing enterprise data architectures, Coalesce provides the guardrails and efficiency to keep data teams AI-ready.

    45 min

  3. 09/08/2025

    How AI Made Data Governance Sexy with Pierre Jr Cliche

    Data governance is far from anyone’s favorite topic, but at Infostrux it’s the superpower behind launching successful AI initiatives. In this episode of the Data T podcast, CEO Pierre Jr Cliche joins Coalesce co-founders Armon Petrossian and Satish Jayanthi to share how Infostrux rides today’s GenAI wave to get buy-in for data governance projects most execs would otherwise overlook: data cataloging, data lineage, and building data transformation frameworks that turn messy data into governed, production-ready assets. Learn how to build a value narrative that makes data governance feel like a growth and innovation enabler rather than a cost center, why a catalog and clear data roles are essential for AI accuracy, and how to get leadership genuinely excited about investing in “unsexy” data work. Key Topics The shift in data governance perceptionThe role of AI in data governanceWhy the majority of Gen AI projects failHow to get stakeholders’ buy-in for data governance initiativesTop challenges for data governance and the tools to solve them Resources: About Coalesce: https://coalesce.io/about/Coalesce podcast archive (The Data T): https://coalesce.io/podcast/

    44 min

  4. 08/04/2025

    Mid-Year Reality Check: Data Predictions With Mike Palmer

    With 2025 more than halfway over, it’s time to test this year’s bold data forecasts—and look ahead to what’s still coming. On this episode of The Data T, Sigma CEO Mike Palmer joins Coalesce co-founders Armon Petrossian and Satish Jayanthi to unpack where data and analytics are really heading in 2025. From rewriting Sigma’s platform on day 30 to calling time on traditional BI “insights,” Palmer explains why the next wave will be AI-powered, end-user apps built on a radically slimmer tool stack—and why data leaders should double the scope of their impact and bet bigger than ever. Key Topics Palmer’s path from Teach For America to Sigma CEOConsolidation in the data industry: from 50–100 analytics tools to ~20Why “insights” and text-to-SQL won’t democratize dataAI’s role in merging BI, apps, and workflow automationAdvice for data professionals Resources: About Coalesce: https://coalesce.io/about/Coalesce podcast archive (The Data T): https://coalesce.io/podcast/

    46 min

  5. 07/03/2025

    The Architect of Scale: Ion Stoica on Open Source, AI, and the Future of Data

    Ion Stoica is a professor of computer science at UC Berkeley, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Databricks, and a key architect of the Apache Spark project. Most recently, he’s the Co-Founder of Anyscale, which leverages the open source Ray framework developed in-lab to enable scalable AI workloads, much like Spark revolutionized large-scale data processing. In this episode of The Data T, we chat with Stoica about his illustrious career, how his obsession with solving hard technical problems led him from networking research to peer-to-peer video, Apache Spark, and ultimately Databricks. He recounts turning Spark’s open-source momentum into a successful enterprise business, crediting speed of execution and targeted hiring for the company’s rise and urging founders to move fast and recruit experienced operators early. Stoica warns that tomorrow’s workloads will demand vertically integrated, multi-accelerator systems. Optimistic yet realistic about AI, he sees reliability and “human-in-the-loop” workflows as today’s gating factors and advises data professionals to embrace continuous learning as the industry accelerates. Hosted by Armon Petrossian and Satish Jayanthi, co-founders of Coalesce. Key topics: The origins of Apache Spark and DatabricksCommercializing open source projectsScaling AI infrastructure complexityAdvice for data practitioners Resources: About Coalesce: https://coalesce.io/about/Coalesce podcast archive (The Data T): https://coalesce.io/podcast/

    36 min

  6. 06/09/2025

    Model as You Go: A New Take on BI

    In this episode of The Data T podcast, Armon Petrossian and Satish Jayanthi sit down with Colin Zima, co-founder and CEO of Omni, to talk about what it takes to reinvent business intelligence. Colin shares his journey from Looker’s early days to building Omni, the lessons learned along the way, and his philosophy of ruthless pragmatism when it comes to data modeling, product development, and AI. The conversation dives deep into the evolving BI landscape, the importance of semantics in AI, and how building trust—whether with customers or stakeholders—can be the real engine of innovation. If you're into the future of data platforms, building in public, or just want to hear what happens when two modern data stack founders compare notes, this one's for you. Main topics: Early startup challenges and reflectionsThe evolving BI landscape The evolution of the Modern Data Stack Perspectives on data modeling The role of semantic layers in AI Hot takes in data analytics Collaboration as a key to success Building trust in data teams Resources: About Omni: https://omni.co/ About Coalesce: https://coalesce.io/about/ Coalesce podcast archive (The Data T): https://coalesce.io/podcast/

    41 min

  7. 05/08/2025

    Data Therapy in the Age of Relentless Innovation and AI

    In this episode of The Data T podcast, Armon Petrossian and Satish Jayanthi talk with Nicho Mann, founder and CEO of Stratos Consulting, about the emotional and operational challenges facing data professionals today. Nicho introduces the idea of “data therapy” — a way to talk about the mounting pressure, backlog, and burnout that teams are experiencing as AI hype accelerates. With firsthand stories from the biotech and pharmaceutical space, he explains how many companies are overwhelmed, under-resourced, and unsure how to move forward. The conversation digs into how to focus on what matters, where AI is genuinely helping, and why a more agile, empathetic approach to data work is urgently needed. Main topics: “Data therapy” concept AI: hype and expectations vs. reality Overwhelmed data teams Executive pressure to innovate Automating manual, repetitive tasks Optimizing data frameworks for AI The importance of subject matter expertise How to stay grounded in fast change Resources: About Stratos Consulting: https://stratosconsulting.com/ About Coalesce: https://coalesce.io/about/ The Data T archive: https://coalesce.io/podcast/

    33 min

  8. 04/03/2025

    AI-Driven Data Catalogs

    Fresh off the announcement of Coalesce acquiring AI-driven data catalog company CastorDoc, now Coalesce Catalog, co-founders Tristan Mayer and Xavier de Boisredon join the Data T podcast to talk about how it all came together, why his marks a major shift in the industry, how the Modern Data Stack is evolving, and what’s next. The conversation highlights both companies’ shared vision of making data governance simpler, more intuitive, and embedded early in the data lifecycle. The founders break down three categories of AI applications in data—AI-assisted governance, metadata-driven analytics, and enterprise AI use cases—and stress how strong data foundations are essential to enable all of them. Watch the full episode to learn more about the challenges of making data governance accessible and actionable to a broad range of data users, how organizations can solve those challenges by shifting governance left, and more. Key Topics CastorDoc’s founding storyShifting data governance leftExploring AI use cases in data governance and data catalogsBuilding trust through data strategyThe democratization of data skills and insightsResources ➡️ About Coalesce: https://coalesce.io/ ➡️ Practical Data Modeling Substack: https://practicaldatamodeling.substac... ➡️ Coalesce podcast archive: https://coalesce.io/podcast/

    45 min
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About

Previously known as Coffee with Coalesce, The Data T is a monthly podcast hosted by Armon Petrossian and Satish Jayanthi, co-founders of Coalesce, the data transformation company. Each month, we invite industry experts, entrepreneurs, and executives to spill the tea on the data industry's hottest topics: from data modeling and data ops to AI and LLMs, data engineering trends and predictions, datapreneurship, and more.

Information

  • Creator
    Armon Petrossian and Satish Jayanthi
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Coalesce Automation, 2023
  • Show Website
    The Data T