Sunayana Vatassery came back to Elastic to work in generative AI

After a 16-year career and her best-ever year in sales, Sunayana Vatassery pivoted to a role in product marketing. She wasn’t working for Elastic® at the time, but she’d return to the company once a product marketing role opened up in a move that she describes as ‘coming home.’ 

Sunayana is now Sr. Product Marketing Manager, but when she joined Elastic the first time it was as a Sales Director working on the Revenue team. She was with the company for two years before deciding to leave. 

“In 2020 I got a great opportunity to take yet another organization to the level of acquisition and/or IPO. I remember thinking back then, I wanted one more run with a smaller private company before growing my career at a public one,” she says. 

Sunayana returned in March 2024 with a new role to a company that feels like home, but has upleveled, she says. And while the number of Elasticians grew during the four years she was gone, the culture remained the same. 

“The people make it so fabulous. So many folks I worked with previously are still here but they’ve moved around, expanded their roles and done even cooler things. Everyone was supportive and wonderful [when I returned].

”One thing that really brought me back was the Source Code. As YOU, are is huge, she says. 

She originally applied for the Sr. Product Marketing Manager role in machine learning but during the interview process, Sunayana was surprised — and impressed — that her now manager restructured the role to a go-to-market (GTM) role to capitalize on her extensive sales and sales leadership experience. 

“Elastic showed me that [As YOU, are ethos] through the interview process. They really molded the role to me,” she says. 

Sunayana now works as a Sr. Product Marketing Manager in GTM Search working closely with the newly minted Search Specialist team.

 “There is a lot of emphasis on GenAI and vector databases in the market overall,” she says. “Our Product Marketing team is tasked with distilling how Elastic plays into these categories. We simplify complex information for all, whether it’s pitch decks, capturing internal and external customers stories, or educating the field on key Elastic differentiators that help elevate our voice in the market. We work closely with the field enablement team to ensure the field is trained on the ways Elastic enables our customers to build the best GenAI experiences.

”A great example of this is when she spoke about the importance of Elastic enabling generative AI experiences for all customers at this year’s sales kickoff meeting two months after rejoining. 

“With generative AI, no one knows where to start, what models to use or how to build the right GenAI strategy. There continues to be a fear around how it will impact private data,” Sunayana says of the general AI market. “At Elastic, search and generative AI are one in the same. What better way to tackle the uncertainties of generative AI than with a secure and proven technology [like Elasticsearch]?” 

Sunayana loves how focused the company has become and how much the Elastic solutions are prime for the market we’re in, she says. 

“We have the right technology for companies to build the best GenAI experiences for their customers — my job is to help put together the most impactful customer stories in a way that people can relate to and reps can tell easily,” she says. “I want the world to know Elasticsearch is the most widely used vector database and the best search technology to help power generative AI experiences for any company.”

“But transitioning into a new career wasn’t easy,” says Sunayana.

In sales, you are the CEO of your own territory and although you do work with other resources within the company, you have a defined goal: owning your own quota and path, she says. In product marketing, the goal is a moving target and the role is all about collaboration with product management, sales, leadership and customer success. But it was a change she learned to love and respect. 

For others looking to switch roles, make sure you’re always learning, Sunayana says. 

“Be curious, ask questions, and learn as much as you can,” she says. “Never think you know everything — be an open vessel of learning. Find the articles that make what you need to know interesting and take that extra step to fully understand your new field. Think about how else you can apply this technology that will be beneficial for the masses.”

And the same advice applies to new Elasticians.

“Get your hands on the product,” Sunayana says. “The more you can learn about the product the better. You don’t need to go deep, but you do need to know how customers use the product, why they love us, and what pain points our products address. This will make you better in your new role.”

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