When it comes to innovation in data infrastructure, Greg Spiegelberg—known affectionately as “the Data Guy” at Mountain (MNTN)—is quietly leading change behind the scenes. Despite the celebrity buzz around MNTN’s Chief Creative Officer Ryan Reynolds, Spiegelberg’s focus remains squarely on technology, transformation, and the people behind data-driven progress.

From tinkering to data mastery

Spiegelberg’s career began long before the data explosion of the modern cloud era. “I’ve been noodling around with computers for a very, very long time,” he recalls. “There was always one thing that was constant—it was data. People wanted to store more, analyze more.” Around two decades ago, he made a conscious decision to move fully into the data world, finding endless fascination in its challenges and possibilities.

Before joining MNTN, Spiegelberg’s path crossed with many companies now defining the enterprise data landscape. While at VMware, he supported customers using Greenplum—a background that would later prove invaluable when MNTN began rethinking its own data strategy.

The need for an open source alternative with enterprise-grade support

“Change is constant here at Mountain,” Spiegelberg says. “We pivot quickly, we have to react quickly.” That agility was tested when VMware’s acquisition by Broadcom triggered licensing and cost changes that forced MNTN to reassess its data platform. After experimenting with Cloudberry, the team soon recognized the need for greater reliability and enterprise-grade support.

“After a year of bumps and bruises, we knew we needed something more stable,” Spiegelberg explains. The solution came from a familiar source: EDB. Known for its contributions to the Greenplum open source project, EDB offered a combination of innovation, stability, and engineering expertise that MNTN couldn’t ignore. “I knew many of the people there. They were the same folks who built and supported Greenplum. It just made sense.”

The pivot to EDB Postgres AI and WarehousePG

The transition to EDB’s WarehousePG data warehouse marked a turning point. “Performance, stability, support—it’s all there,” Spiegelberg says. “And when something goes wrong, there’s someone on the other end of the phone in the middle of the night. That’s huge.”

Since adopting EDB, MNTN has embraced a wave of enhancements—from new PostgreSQL features to integrated extensions like pgvector and PostGIS. “Postgres 18 just came out, and the performance improvements are incredible,” Spiegelberg notes. “It’s exciting to see how much innovation is happening.”

The art of data engineering

For Spiegelberg, working in data isn’t just technical—it’s creative. “Developers and engineers—we’re artistic in our own way. Whether it’s creating better performance or a really neat feature, I’m really anxious to see what you all come up with,” he says. It’s that spirit of innovation, coupled with resilience in the face of constant change, that continues to drive MNTN’s data evolution forward.