From Sports Reporter to Global Tech PR Leader: Video Q&A with Keyana Corliss of Databricks

Some of the best PR people I know come from non-PR backgrounds. 

One person who comes to mind is our client, Keyana Corliss, senior director of global communications at Databricks. Keyana never predicted that she’d end up in PR — she started off as a business consultant before going back to school to earn her master’s in broadcast journalism. She landed her dream job as a sports reporter at an ABC affiliate in Washington. D.C. where she covered the Washington Capitals. During this time, she interviewed one of the hockey players and realized journalism wasn’t the right fit. She pivoted to a communications career and never looked back.

Keyana joined Databricks last year during the pandemic to help the company grow and tell meaningful stories about how AI is changing our lives. 

In this video interview, we talk about the communications strategies around Databricks’ massive funding raise of $1 billion from top investors and what’s ahead for the data and AI leader in 2021. She also shares great advice for young PR professionals: be confident, manage internal relationships and why it’s not all about chasing the next media hit.