{"id":20158,"date":"2026-05-12T10:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T14:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/?p=20158"},"modified":"2026-05-12T13:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:34:12","slug":"2026-convocation-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/2026\/05\/12\/2026-convocation-speaker\/","title":{"rendered":"CDS Welcomes 2026 Convocation Speaker Aristotle Balogh"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HeadshotThe Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences is proud to welcome Aristotle Balogh as the 2026 Convocation Speaker. A cutting-edge pioneer in the tech landscape, Ari brings decades of experience leading digital companies like Airbnb, Google, Yahoo!, Verisign, and more.<\/p>\n

Most recently, as Chief Technology Officer at Airbnb, Ari established a \u201cCommitment to Craft,\u201d a philosophy centered on building strong technical foundations, empowering teams, and setting measurable goals without sacrificing long-term quality for speed. This approach enabled Airbnb to scale while maintaining the velocity and adaptability required of a fast-moving technology company. In Ari\u2019s words, \u201cCommitment to Craft is more than a set of projects\u2014it\u2019s a philosophy that people have rallied around.\u201d<\/p>\n

The results of Ari\u2019s leadership have been tangible across Airbnb\u2019s operations. Since he joined the company in 2018, Airbnb has improved web performance, strengthened data quality, and advanced development practices across engineering teams. Ari\u2019s \u201cCommitment to Craft\u201d philosophy was further tested during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting downturn in global travel demand. The resilient technical infrastructure and operational efficiency his teams had built helped Airbnb navigate a period of extraordinary uncertainty and market disruption.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his time at Airbnb, Ari has described his leadership as the culmination of a career spent at the forefront of technological innovation. As Vice President of Engineering at Google, he oversaw global search data infrastructure, helped launch the initial external Google Cloud Platform, and advanced component-based microservices architectures for large-scale consumer and data services. His prior work as Executive Vice President of Products and CTO at Yahoo! included leading engineering and product development efforts focused on product quality, experimentation, and infrastructure consolidation across consumer platforms and technical operations. Earlier, as Executive Vice President of Global Product Development and CTO of Verisign, he led critical internet infrastructure initiatives while driving technology strategy, innovation, and operational reliability across the company\u2019s global services.<\/p>\n

Azer Bestavros<\/a>, Associate Provost for Computing & Data Sciences, observed, \u201cFrom safeguarding the Internet\u2019s foundational services to transforming consumer platforms at the highest scale, Ari Balogh\u2019s career is a masterclass in aligning technology, teams, and strategy. His stewardship of mission-critical infrastructure and orchestration of sweeping technological reinvention at Airbnb demonstrates the vision of a leader who turns complexity into clarity\u2014an inspiring model for graduates entering a world shaped by rapid technological change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get Your Convocation 2026 Details Here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year’s convocation speaker has been announced! Read all about industry leader Ari Balogh here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18839,"featured_media":20159,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[427,5,230],"tags":[27,349,22,298],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18839"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20158"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20230,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20158\/revisions\/20230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}