About

Tim Graczewski is a business development and strategy executive with over 25 years of experience in enterprise software, startups, and government service.

He currently leads Confluent for Startups, a global program supporting early-stage companies building on Confluent Cloud. He launched and manages initiatives including the $1M Data Streaming Startup Challenge and the Confluent AI Accelerator, focused on real-time generative and agentic AI applications.

Previously, Tim co-founded Cake Technologies, a venture-backed mobile browser, and was a founding team member at Nav, a platform dedicated to helping small business owners improve their access to capital.

Prior to that, he held senior roles in business development, strategy, and M&A at AWS, Intuit, and Oracle. In 2009–2010, Tim was mobilized from the U.S. Navy Reserve to active duty as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He served as Lead Economic Development Officer for NATO’s Regional Command South in Kandahar, Afghanistan. His work included infrastructure coordination, cross-sector planning, and revenue enhancement at key regional assets such as Kandahar International Airport, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.

Tim began his career in defense strategy consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton and completed graduate fellowships at Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment and the U.S. Department of State’s Policy Planning Staff. Tim holds a masters degree in strategic studies and international economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and bachelors degrees in economics and political science from the University of Florida.