In a Temporal board meeting last October, we were deep in conversation about delivering customer value when I got the strange feeling that another person in the room could read my mind. Even stranger? I felt I could read his, too.
It was a rare sensation of a mind meld. Though we were two among many in that room, and though we weren’t even sitting next to one another, the feeling was unmistakable. In that moment, I decided Sahir Azam was a person I needed to know.
Shortly after, I invited him for coffee. My goal wasn’t to learn more about Sahir’s competence. I already knew that story of the leader who fused product and GTM—across the industry, he is well-known for driving Atlas and catapulting MongoDB into one of the most important tech companies to come out of New York City. I’d also heard many stories of his curiosity, worldliness, and impact from friends who’ve worked with him over the years.
Instead, I wanted to learn more about Sahir the human, why we experienced that mind meld, and what the heck was he meant to do in his next chapter. What I learned over coffee was this: Sahir cares about people. He’s sharp, practical, and trustworthy. By the time we said goodbye, I shared my gut instinct with the team: Sahir should be our next partner at Index.
"I wanted a culture that was highly collaborative and team-oriented," Sahir told us when he joined Index. "It’s a very people-first organization that centers around relationships, and that resonated with me.”
—Sahir Azam
Sahir has built his career on being people-first. He’s curious, approachable, and collaborative. It’s why he chose Index, and it’s what makes him such a strong leader and mentor. That strength was evident early on at PTC/BladeLogic (what I revere as the University of Chicago of sales because the lineage and prestige of its world-class leaders is just as dense as our Nobel laureates 😉 ) where he honed a sharp ability to understand customer pain and meet it head-on. He could have stayed on that track, but his curiosity pulled him toward new challenges.
At MongoDB, he blossomed under the mentorship of world-class CEO and operator Dev Ittycheria. Sahir’s ability to keep customers in focus while flexing between product, engineering, and go-to-market was integral to making MongoDB the success it is today. As an investor, that interdisciplinary curiosity and range will be key to helping companies win in the AI era.
Over the years, I’ve watched Sahir marry deep infrastructure know‑how with a people‑first ethos. He combines the hustle of a start‑up founder with the discipline of a scale operator and deep domain knowledge across data, AI, and security—a rare mix that makes him an ideal partner for entrepreneurs. Index’s global, collaborative culture is a natural fit for him—I’m excited for this next career step as an investor.Dev Ittycheria,
CEO of MongoDB
Sahir will be based in New York City, and will spend time working with founders throughout the United States and Europe—so don’t be surprised if he hosts you in our San Francisco or London offices.
We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Sahir as Index’s newest partner!
Published — Sept. 11, 2025
