Confluent hires a new APAC SVP and global partners and technology SVP

These appointments are to bolster the company’s next phase of growth.

Data streaming company Confluent has appointed two executives, Greg Taylor as its new SVP and general manager APAC and Kamal Brar as its SVP for global partners and technology group.

Brar was the previous SVP and general manager for APAC. He will be responsible for expanding Confluent’s worldwide partner ecosystem, spanning CSPs, GSIs, ISVs, MSPs and OEMs, to drive joint innovation and go-to-market momentum.

Taylor joins Confluent bringing more than 25 years of experience driving revenue and cloud adoption across the region, including senior roles at Databricks, New Relic and Oracle.

Speaking to CRN Australia, Taylor said his focus in his new role is to help organisations across APAC think about how their data helps them compete smarter and scale their AI ambitions with confidence.

“While many businesses across the region are developing exciting AI use cases, legacy infrastructure and siloed, fragmented data remain major blockers to moving from prototypes to production,” he said.

Taylor said these new appointments provide the leverage in the company’s leadership structure they need for their next phase of growth.

“We continue to focus on APAC at a time when demand for real-time data and AI-ready architectures are accelerating. I’m super excited to join Confluent at what we believe is only the beginning of a once-in-a-generation shift across every industry,” he said.

“At the same time, Brar’s move into leading our global partner and technology ecosystem means the insights and momentum we’ve built in APAC can scale worldwide.

“He’s been instrumental in shaping Confluent’s growth across the region and now he’s taking that impact to a global level to strengthen our partner ecosystem, deepen integration with hyperscalers and GSIs, and accelerate how customers adopt data streaming.”

Taylor added, “Together, these appointments ensure we’re set up to support more partners and customers locally while contributing to a global ecosystem that makes data streaming and AI innovation accessible to more organisations worldwide.”

The channel is “absolutely central” to how the company scales, Taylor explained.

“Partners are often the ones helping customers modernise their data estates, migrate to the cloud, and bring AI-driven applications to life. That makes them a critical extension of our team,” he said.

“This is why earlier this year Confluent invested US$200 million to help partners grow with data streaming. We are giving them more ways to build it into their strategies, unlock new revenue, and explore fresh use cases.”

For 2026, Taylor said he sees three big areas of opportunity for the channel.

“Helping customers accelerate AI agendas, moving from pilots to production will require strong data foundations, and our partner ecosystem will play a major role in enabling and scaling that shift,” he said.

“Modernising legacy architectures, there’s huge demand to move away from batch-based systems toward real-time, event-driven design.

“[And,] industry-specific solutions, particularly among digital natives, telcos, retail and the financial services industries, where real-time data is becoming essential for fraud detection, customer experience, risk management and operational efficiency.”

Looking ahead, Taylor said Confluent wants to elevate and expand its GSI, cloud, and regional partner community.

“Equipping them with the tools, expertise and support they need to build differentiated services, improve customer outcomes, and capitalise on the growing demand for real-time data and AI-ready platforms,” he added.