SVDS Strengthens Executive and Advisory Team

August 18th, 2016

I’m excited to announce two new members of our team: Antony Falco (VP, Product & Innovation) and Nayla Rizk (Advisor).

At Silicon Valley Data Science, we aspire to bring the best of agile, iterative data product development used by innovative companies in the Silicon Valley to our clients. Tony Falco has joined our team as VP, Product & Innovation, to help us continue to bring a product development focus to our work. He brings extensive experience as a serial entrepreneur in building products, platforms, and SaaS offerings. In addition to a client focus, Tony will help assess product opportunity for those of our teammates that have entrepreneurial ambitions.

Before joining SVDS, Tony was the founder of Orchestrate.io, a SaaS API service that eliminates the need to deploy and scale NoSQL databases. Orchestrate.io was acquired by CenturyLink in April 2015. In 2008, Tony co-founded Basho—a pioneer in distributed databases and cloud storage, and an early entrant in the NoSQL space. Prior to that, Tony helped Akamai grow its distributed caching product from pre-revenue to post-IPO and beyond.

In explaining the move, Tony said: “I was excited to join SVDS because of the people and the model. Working with a diverse team of smart, motivated people to figure out big questions about a massive, emerging industry is by far the best part of the job. SVDS’ model provides me a platform to test new ideas, ready them for market, and if one piques my interest, to lead it as a spinout.”

As we have grown our diverse team and variety of client engagements, I also wanted to add expertise in business strategy, organizational effectiveness, and people development. I’m pleased to welcome Nayla Rizk to our Advisory Board to assist our leadership team and Board of Directors with both strategic and tactical guidance on enabling our people to achieve their best. Because of Nayla’s amazing background in consulting, operating roles, and executive placement, she will advise the company on growth, culture, and recruiting. Nayla has always contributed back to the community as a leader and member of a number of non-profit organizations, reflecting one of our most important values as a firm.

Nayla currently consults with start-ups in Silicon Valley and New York City. Previously she was a senior director at Spencer Stuart, the leading global executive search firm, where she was a core member of the firm’s North American Technology, Communications & Media and Board Practices, based in Silicon Valley. Earlier, Nayla was director of strategic planning and reengineering at Network Equipment Technologies. She served as an engagement manager with McKinsey & Company in New York and, before that, began her career as an operations research analyst for Chevron U.S.A. in San Francisco.