Apache Iceberg and open lakehouses
Table formats, catalogs, interoperability, and the practical choices behind a production lakehouse. Alex co-wrote Apache Iceberg: The Definitive Guide and wrote Architecting an Apache Iceberg Lakehouse.
Speaking
Book Alex Merced to speak on lakehouses, Iceberg, and agentic AI
Alex Merced is Head of Developer Relations at Dremio and an author and educator on open data architecture. He speaks with data teams, developers, and business audiences about building useful systems and helping people understand them.
Topics
What Alex speaks about
Each talk can be pitched at practitioners, leaders, or a mixed room.
Catalogs and governance
What a lakehouse catalog does, how Apache Polaris and the other options compare, and how to keep one set of tables usable across engines. Alex co-wrote Apache Polaris: The Definitive Guide.
Agentic AI and analytics
Why AI agents need governed, well-described data, and how semantic layers and open interfaces make agent answers dependable.
Performance and optimization
Partitioning, sorting, compaction, row group sizing, and query acceleration, with the tradeoffs of each.
AI-assisted software development
Context engineering, AI-TDD, and harness design for teams using coding agents, the subject of Building the Software Factory (Packt).
Open source and developer communities
How community-run projects become standards, and how to teach complex technology without losing the audience.
Track record
Past talks and events
A selection with dates where the record has them. The full session list lives on Sessionize.
- 2026Iceberg Summit 2026Speaker
- 2025Iceberg Summit 2025Speaker
- 2024OSA Con 2024 (Open Source Analytics Conference)Open Source and the Data Lakehouse · Virtual
- 2024SQLSaturday DenverSpeaker · Denver, Colorado
- 2024DataTune 2024Speaker · Nashville, Tennessee
- 2024Orlando Code Camp 2024Speaker · Sanford, Florida
- 2024SQLSaturday Fort LauderdaleSpeaker · Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- 2024Data Day Texas 2024Speaker and O'Reilly author showcase · Austin, Texas
- 2023OSA Con 2023 (Open Source Analytics Conference)Data as Code: Project Nessie · Virtual
Also on stage at
Sessions
Talks ready to give
Abstracts from Alex's Sessionize profile. Any of them can be adapted to your audience and time slot.
Lakehouse Catalogs 101: Governing and Transporting Your Iceberg, Delta and Hudi Tables
What lakehouse catalogs do, and how Apache Polaris, Nessie, Unity Catalog, Gravitino, and AWS Glue compare.
Read the abstract ↗IceFrame: A Python Toolkit for Building and Operating Iceberg Data Pipelines
Creating tables, evolving schemas, compaction, branching, and rollback with a high-level Python API.
Read the abstract ↗Why Open, Community-Driven Projects Become the Standards
Why the project with transparent governance and a broad contributor base tends to become the default.
Read the abstract ↗Apache Iceberg, Agentic AI and Data Integration
Using Iceberg as the governed source of truth that AI agents query.
Read the abstract ↗Apache Iceberg: An Architectural Look Under the Covers
Why the Hive table format falls short at scale and how Iceberg metadata fixes it.
Read the abstract ↗Optimizing Data: Partitioning, Sorting, Compaction, Row Group Sizing, and More
Choosing the right optimization techniques for a given workload.
Read the abstract ↗Apache Arrow Flight SQL
Why ODBC and JDBC fall short and how Arrow Flight SQL speeds up data transfer.
Read the abstract ↗The Anatomy of a Data Lakehouse
File formats, table formats, query engines, and semantic layers, and what each contributes.
Read the abstract ↗Watch and listen
Hear how Alex explains things
Guest appearances and courses you can watch or listen to before you book.
- 2024Data Engineering PodcastVersion Your Data Lakehouse Like Your Software With Nessie
- 2024Let's Talk AI Podcast, episode 70Data Engineering, Open Source and Dremio with Alex Merced
- 2024RTInsights Smart Talk, episode 9Apache Iceberg and Streaming Data Architectures
- 2023The Data Stack ShowThe Anatomy of a Data Lakehouse with Alex Merced of Dremio
- 2024LinkedIn LearningHands-On with Apache Iceberg · published October 2024
More video: Alex Merced on YouTube (data and AI) · Alex Merced on YouTube (coding) · upcoming community events
For organizers
Organizer FAQ
What topics does Alex speak on?
Apache Iceberg and open lakehouse architecture, lakehouse catalogs such as Apache Polaris, query performance and data optimization, semantic layers, agentic analytics, and how open-source communities form standards. Talks can be pitched at engineers, data leaders, or a mixed audience.
Which formats work?
Keynotes, conference sessions, workshops, panels, meetups, podcasts, and webinars, in person or virtual.
Is there a speaking fee?
There is no speaking fee. When Alex presents as a Dremio representative, there is no cost to your event. For a vendor-neutral or independent talk, the event covers travel and lodging.
What about travel?
Dremio covers travel when Alex speaks for Dremio. For a vendor-neutral or independent talk, the event covers travel and lodging. Alex is based in Orlando, Florida, and virtual sessions are always an option.
What should I tell you about AV and recording?
Share the room setup (screen connectors, microphone, confidence monitor), the session length, and whether the talk will be recorded or streamed.
How far ahead should I ask?
As early as you can. Conference calls for papers often close months ahead, so include the date and any CFP deadline in the form.
Need a bio or headshot for your program? Use the press kit, or read the long-form story on WhoIsAlexMerced.com.
Invite Alex
Tell me about your event
Share the date, audience, format, and the topic you have in mind. Every inquiry gets a reply. You can also email contact@alexmerced.com.