Clifford Colvin

About Clifford Colvin

As Director of Engineering at Kubecost (now part of IBM), I lead high-trust, high-impact teams driving innovation at the intersection of Kubernetes, FinOps, and AI. From spearheading a 100x scale-up in platform architecture to tightening our security posture and slashing product defects, my team helped engineer not just a better product, but an exit.I don’t just build systems, I build the conditions for people to thrive. Rooted in conscious leadership, I foster a culture where clarity, ownership, and experimentation fuel growth. Whether we\'re optimizing for performance, cost, or user delight, we ship with purpose and play the long game.

Experience

1. Director of Engineering

   Apptio, An Ibm Company

   Feb 2025 — Present · US

   Following Kubecost’s acquisition by IBM, I stepped into a broader leadership role overseeing all container-focused FinOps teams across IBM, including Cloudability Containers. My focus is on unifying our product lines into a cohesive, world-class FinOps suite—designed to deliver visibility, optimization, and control at enterprise scale.I’m actively leading cross-org integration efforts, evolving our technical architecture, and fostering a culture that blends startup velocity with IBM’s global reach. While operating Kubecost as a standalone business unit with ambitious 10x ACV goals, we’re also laying the groundwork for what’s next in AI-powered cloud cost management.

Skills

• Cloud Computing
• Angularjs
• Sql
• Linux
• Asp.net
• Tortoise Svn
• C
• Programming
• Windows Server
• Php
• Software Development
• Python
• Scrum
• Asp
• Apache
• Web Applications
• Saas
• Visual Studio
• Subversion
• Database Design
• T-Sql
• Iis
• Ssrs
• Cobol
• Perl
• Vba
• Visual Svn
• Leadership Development
• Public Speaking
• Microsoft Sql Server
• Agile Methodologies
• Javascript
• Cmmi
• Web Services
• Team Leadership
• Web Development
• C++
• Databases
• Plastic Scm
• C#