Fortified Insight Welcomes Douglas McDowell as Chief Operating Officer

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 31, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Fortified Insight is thrilled to announce the appointment of Douglas McDowell as the new Chief Operating Officer. McDowell joins Fortified Insight with a distinguished background in product-focused leadership, bringing a unique blend of strategic and operational expertise to the team. 

Douglas McDowell is well-known for his knowledge of Go-to-Market (GTM) strategies, portfolio rationalization, and transition from perpetual to subscription models. He has extensive experience in software-to-SaaS transformation and is an expert in observability, data management, databases, AI, and the DevOps+DataOps toolchain and services market. 

“We are so glad to welcome Douglas to Fortified Insight,” said Ben DeBow, CEO of Fortified Insight. “His extensive experience and strategic vision will be instrumental in advancing our mission to simplify, optimize, and maximize the value of technology with our best-in-class FinOps Observability software.” 

Before joining Fortified Insight, McDowell held significant roles at SolarWinds. As Vice President and General Manager of the Database Portfolio and Site Leader for the Charlotte office, he managed a $100 million consolidated database business, focusing on delivering best-in-class database observability for hybrid and multi-cloud environments. In his previous role as Vice President of Portfolio Management and Strategic Alliances, McDowell was responsible for the company’s product portfolio strategy, pricing, packaging, and strategic alliances with Microsoft, AWS, and Google. He also spearheaded ProductOps, overseeing business operations and PMO/engineering operations, and presided as Chief of Staff over SolarWinds’ 800-member Product and Engineering team. Before SolarWinds, McDowell was Chief Strategy Officer at SentryOne, which SolarWinds acquired in November 2020. 

McDowell’s proven track record in corporate strategy planning and execution, product and portfolio management, product marketing, and professional services makes him a valuable addition to Fortified Insight. His leadership and expertise will drive the company’s growth and innovation. 

“I’m delighted to be stepping into the role of COO at Fortified Insight,” said Douglas McDowell. “This company is on the brink of an incredible growth stage, and I can’t wait to see the impact we can make together. But what stands out to me is Fortified’s fantastic team and vibrant culture. It’s an honor to be part of such a dynamic and driven group of people.” McDowell was awarded a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) 11 times in SQL Server and Data Platform. He served 18 years on the Microsoft Partner Advisory Council (PAC) for Data+AI and Azure.  

McDowell earned an MBA at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, an MS in IT at American InterContinental University, an AAS of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales, and a BA in Communications at Wheaton College in Illinois.  

For more information about Fortified Insight, visit fortifiedinsight.com. 

About Fortified Insight: Fortified Insight builds FinOps Observability and database optimization software to help organizations and their people maximize the value and performance of their technology investments. 

Source: Fortified Insight