Ken Yagen joins CData as Chief Product Officer to drive AI growth
CData Software has appointed Ken Yagen as Chief Product Officer. Yagen will oversee product strategy and engineering as the company focuses on expanding its connectivity platform for artificial intelligence systems and autonomous agents across the enterprise sector.
AI-native connectivity
Yagen will guide CData's strategic direction at a time when the demand for AI-native connectivity is growing among enterprise customers. The company's platform enables organisations to connect their various business systems, such as Salesforce, NetSuite, and SAP, with AI tools and autonomous agents. This access aims to provide AI with not just data but the operational context and logic needed to function effectively within different business applications.
Yagen emphasised the need for system fluency within AI applications, rather than just access to data sources.
"AI will fail to achieve meaningful outcomes if agents don't understand the systems they're acting in. The enterprises that will dominate the AI era are the ones whose agents have real system fluency-not just access," said Ken Yagen, Chief Product Officer, CData. "CData is eliminating a core blocker in enterprise AI by giving agents both the connectivity and the deep, system-level context to operate safely, predictably, and at scale across Salesforce, NetSuite, SAP, and 350+ business systems. We're building the context and control fabric that turns AI into a trusted digital operator inside the enterprise."
Product leadership
Yagen brings over 25 years of leadership experience in enterprise software product management. Before joining CData, he was involved with AI and large language model initiatives at Warburg Pincus, supporting portfolio companies in integrating AI technologies. His previous roles include MuleSoft, where he contributed to API and integration platform strategy, and leadership positions at Box and Symphony.
His career background is expected to help CData refine and accelerate its product roadmap as the company positions its platform as essential infrastructure for AI-driven enterprises.
Market approach
CData's business model targets both direct enterprise customers and independent software vendors (ISVs). Enterprises are using CData's managed Model Context Protocol (MCP) platform to standardise connectivity throughout their operations. Software vendors are embedding the platform into their products, aiming to offer clients AI features without building integrations from scratch.
Yagen stated CData's ambition to become the default connectivity layer for AI in enterprise environments. "We're building a comprehensive, secure MCP platform, and we're early in this market," said Yagen. "The opportunity is to make CData a go-to connectivity layer-one that enterprises can rely on internally and that product builders embed by default. This isn't just about better integrations. It's about making every AI system enterprise-ready from day one."
Executive backing
Amit Sharma, CEO and co-founder of CData, commented on Yagen's expertise and fit for the post. "Ken brings exactly the experience and vision we need at this stage of our growth," said Amit Sharma, CEO and co-founder, CData. "His track record building enterprise platforms at scale, combined with his deep expertise in distributed systems and AI infrastructure, makes him an ideal fit to lead our product organization as we help customers navigate the AI era."
