Sam Pierson
Chief Technology Officer at Qlik
Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area, United States
About Sam Pierson
Sam Pierson is Chief Technology Officer at Qlik. Location: Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area, United States.
With innovations in data and AI, there’s never been a better time to be a builder. From starting college right after the dot-com crash, to witnessing digital transformation at a pace never seen before. I’ve had a front row seat in tech for almost 20 years. As CTO at Qlik, my role spans everything from owning engineering excellence to designing the look and feel of our platforms. From driving customer success to building our own global business at scale, I help people every day. Whether customers are struggling with enormous data estates or under pressure to incorporate AI, I guide them toward scalable solutions. Colleagues call me a “corporate athlete”. I’ll lean into whatever needs to be done, whether that’s architecture, commercialization or team leadership. Job titles don’t matter to me; outcomes and people do. I’ve touched upon all business functions across my career, from marketing to change management. As a leader, I care about shaping teams. I had to be an agile architect during the Talend and Qlik integration, creating teams and giving them exactly what they needed to succeed. Scaling isn’t just about technology; it's about empowering people. What makes me different as a CTO? I hope to bring authentic connections and commercial acumen, as well as technical depth. Customers need technical leaders who can speak code, business and human at the same time. Outside of work, I’m happiest outdoors and with my family. Ice fishing and snowboarding in winter, wakesurfing and hiking in summer. If you’re a CDO/CIO exploring how to make data and AI scalable, secure and cost-effective, I’d love to connect. I also welcome conversations with like-minded industry peers. Knowledge/Expertise: Technology | Engineer | Architect | CTO | Executive Leader | SaaS | Data | Analytics | Data Visualization | Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Machine Learning (ML) | Deep Learning | Data Science | Data Architecture | Digital Transformation | Change Management | Engineering Excellence | Commercialization | Product Design | Customer Success | Leadership | Mentoring | CX | Innovation | Growth Strategy | Generative AI | Natural Language Processing (NLP) | Data Engineering | Big Data | Data Governance | Cybersecurity
Skills
Additional experience
Senior Vice President, Engineering, Data Business Unit
Qlik
May 2023 – June 2025
Education
- Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), UMN Carlson School of Management
- Bachelor's Degree, University of Minnesota - Institute of Technology