David Galloreese
DatadogAbout David Galloreese
David Galloreese (age 45) is Datadog’s Chief People Officer (CPO), appointed in July 2024. He holds an M.B.A. from New York University and a B.A. from UCLA . During FY2024, Datadog delivered revenue of $2.68B (+26% y/y), GAAP operating income of $54M (2% margin), and non-GAAP operating income of $674M (25% margin), providing the operating backdrop as he joined the leadership team .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Figma | Chief Human Resources Officer | May 2021 – Nov 2022 | Not disclosed |
| Wells Fargo & Company | Chief Human Resources Officer | Jul 2018 – Apr 2021 | Not disclosed |
| Walmart (Sam’s Club) | Chief People Officer (Sam’s Club) | Oct 2016 – Jun 2018 | Not disclosed |
| Medallia | Senior HR leadership roles | Earlier career | Not disclosed |
| Caesars Entertainment | Senior HR leadership roles | Earlier career | Not disclosed |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKinsey & Company | Senior Advisor | Most recent prior to DDOG | Advised companies including Karat, Guild and Gametime |
Fixed Compensation
Datadog did not disclose individual 2024 compensation for Galloreese in the FY2024 proxy (he was not a “named executive officer” for FY2024) . For context on the company’s executive cash-pay framework in FY2024 (as applied to named executive officers):
| Metric (NEO program) | FY 2024 |
|---|---|
| Base Salary (typical for NEOs) | $425,000 |
| Target Bonus % of Base | 94% |
| Target Bonus $ (CEO/CFO/CTO/COO examples) | $400,000 |
| Actual Bonus Payout % of Target | 93% |
Notes: NEO cash bonuses were tied to net new ARR attainment with decelerators if non-GAAP operating income fell below target; FY2024 payout was ~93% of target following ~93% attainment of the net new ARR goal and achievement of the non-GAAP operating income target .
Performance Compensation
Company-wide executive incentive design (as disclosed for NEOs) centers on growth and profitability:
- Annual cash bonus metric: net new ARR (with decelerators if non-GAAP operating income below target) .
- PSU metric: one-year revenue performance (threshold 88% of target) subject to a non-GAAP operating income target, with a 200% cap; earned PSUs then vest over four years .
FY2024 outcomes (company-wide program for NEOs):
| Incentive element | Metric | FY2024 Target | FY2024 Actual | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cash bonus (NEOs) | Net new ARR (decelerated by non-GAAP OpInc if below target) | 100% of operating plan | ~93% attainment | ~93% of target bonus paid |
| PSUs (NEOs) | Revenue growth; non-GAAP OpInc target | 2024 revenue target implied 26% y/y growth | $2,684,275k (100.5% of target); 26% y/y | 115% of target PSUs earned |
Equity vehicle design and vesting cadence:
- RSUs: Time-based; 4-year vesting, typically 25% on the first vest date and the remainder in 12 equal quarterly installments, subject to continued service .
- PSUs: One-year performance measurement; earned shares vest over 4 years on a similar quarterly cadence, subject to continued service .
Important: The figures above reflect Datadog’s NEO program and results; Galloreese’s individual equity grants (if any) were not disclosed in the FY2024 proxy.
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Date | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Initial beneficial ownership (Form 3) | Jul 1, 2024 | Reported 0 shares of Class A common stock at appointment as CPO |
| Hedging/pledging | Policy in effect | Datadog prohibits hedging, short sales, holding on margin, and pledging company shares, enhancing alignment and limiting speculative activity |
| Clawback | Policy in effect | SEC- and Nasdaq-consistent clawback applies to erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation in the three fiscal years preceding a required restatement |
Notes:
- Galloreese is not listed among the FY2024 NEOs in the proxy, and individual beneficial ownership for him is not itemized in the FY2025 proxy tables (which focus on directors, 5% holders, and NEOs) .
- A search did not surface any Form 4 transactions disclosed in the document set; monitor EDGAR for updates .
Employment Terms
Datadog discloses standard executive severance and change-in-control (CIC) terms for its named executive officers. The company did not disclose Galloreese’s individual agreement; the NEO framework is summarized below for context:
| Scenario (NEO framework) | Cash | COBRA | Equity | Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Termination without cause / resign for good reason (outside CIC window) | Lump sum = 6 months base salary + 50% of target annual bonus | Company-paid premiums up to 6 months | No acceleration | Outside CIC; standard separation |
| Termination without cause / resign for good reason within 3 months before or 12 months after CIC | Lump sum = 12 months base salary + 100% of target annual bonus | Company-paid premiums up to 12 months | 100% vesting of unvested time-based equity; performance awards per plan (earned PSUs that remain time-based follow CIC acceleration) | Double-trigger |
Additional Governance and Program Design (Company-Level)
- Say-on-pay: ~95% approval at 2024 annual meeting, signaling strong shareholder support for program design .
- Compensation risk controls: Caps at 200% for cash and PSUs; no single-trigger vesting on CIC; no excise tax gross-ups; independent Compensation Committee and use of independent consultant (Compensia) .
- Benchmarking peer set (2024): Atlassian, Cloudflare, CrowdStrike, DocuSign, Dynatrace, Fortinet, HubSpot, MongoDB, Okta, Palantir, Snowflake, Splunk, The Trade Desk, Twilio, Unity, Veeva, Zoom, Zscaler .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and retention: As a newly appointed Section 16 officer in July 2024 with Form 3 showing zero initial holdings, Galloreese’s current equity alignment and vesting overhang aren’t disclosed. However, Datadog’s executive design emphasizes multi-year RSU/PSU vesting and prohibits hedging/pledging, which supports long-term alignment and lowers pledging risk .
- Pay-for-performance levers: Company-wide incentives tie cash to net new ARR and PSUs to annual revenue (with profitability gates), directly linking leadership pay to growth and operating discipline; FY2024 PSU outcome was 115% of target, indicating moderate outperformance against plan .
- Disclosure gap to monitor: Galloreese was not an FY2024 NEO, so individual base/bonus targets, grant values and vesting schedules were not disclosed. Watch for future proxies or 8-Ks for any employment agreement, sign-on awards, retention grants, or Form 4 activity that could inform selling pressure and retention risk .
- Governance backdrop: Strong say-on-pay support, robust clawback, and prohibitions on hedging/pledging reduce governance red flags and adverse trading signals at the program level .