James Bailon

Re: Chief of Staff

Hi Prukalpa and Mathura,

Your call for “slightly crazy, slightly misfit” people (although ”slightly” is questionable for me) who thrive in chaos, ambiguity, and relentless speed really felt like it was directed towards someone like me. As with many successful chiefs of staff, my career has not been linear. I’ve had a lot of exposure to different sectors, company sizes, and any of the hats thrown toward me at any given time. I’m confident that my background of building scalable systems and orchestrating organizational alignment can contribute to helping Atlan to be the fastest learning and iterating company in the world.

What makes me special

• I thrive at serving as connective tissue: I function well as the operational bridge across leadership, internal teams, and external stakeholders to ensure alignment, resource flow, and timely issue resolution. I prefer to lead by influence and enjoy connecting the dots of diverse and multi-faceted teams.

• I’m both a Words and Numbers guy: Why pick one? I enjoy and excel at both writing/communications and with numbers and data analysis. I don’t think it’s strange to create a complex spreadsheet followed by drafting documents for an upcoming exec meeting. And I really love finding ways to tell compelling, data-driven stories.

• I love the interplay of ambiguity, systems thinking, and technology: I think all three of these have their place and there really is a rhythm and flow to it, which makes iteration very key. While most people see them as more linear, I believe they are more interwoven and it helps to have someone view them together to constantly create.

• I bring the concept of white-glove Hospitality to work: My partner and I love hosting dinners, and I spent some time working in craft coffee; I’ve found that reflecting service principles across contexts is underrated. One example is approaching internal or external folks/teams with warmth and empathy, without sacrificing straight-forwardness and intention.

What makes me obsessed? To name a few things: working with like-minded folks, spreadsheets, Notion, using AI daily as a force-multiplier, and approaching each day and encounter with authenticity. I’m also hungry to learn and ready for a challenge.

I’d love to talk more about how I can help Atlan run faster, better, and more aligned than any company in this space.

Cheers,
James