AvePoint Welcomes Ben Griffin: Modern Resilience on Tour

Resilience isn’t about avoiding pressure. It’s about seeing what’s changing, governing with intent, and recovering fast so you can keep moving forward. That’s why we’re teaming up with PGA TOUR standout Ben Griffin to be an AvePoint Brand Ambassador. His path back to the PGA TOUR, and onto golf’s biggest stages, embodies the same discipline and decision‑making that organizations need to secure, govern, and protect data in the AI era with Mission Control for Modern Data Protection.

Why Ben, Why Now

A few years ago, Ben pressed pause on professional golf. Burned out, burdened by mounting credit‑card debt, and unsure if the grind was still worth it, he left the mini‑tours and took a 9–5 job as a mortgage loan officer in North Carolina. He has said that the step back functioned like a reset button: space to clear his head, restore discipline, and rebuild the habits that had slipped under pressure.

That reset connected to something deeper in his story. During the 2008 housing crisis, Ben’s family lost their home, and he spent countless hours as a kid sharpening his short game at a public course in Chapel Hill. That early muscle memory – resilience through routine – showed up years later when he rebuilt his career: methodical practice, better life choices, and small, repeatable wins that compound.

By late 2021, the pull back to competition was too strong to ignore. Ben returned to tournament golf, earned status on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022, and then secured his PGA TOUR card for 2023. The breakthrough arrived in 2025: first a victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Andrew Novak, then a gritty individual win at the Charles Schwab Challenge – a Sunday that highlighted the very short‑game resilience forged in those early years. His season culminated with a Captain’s Pick for the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup Team, completing a desk‑job‑to‑Ryder‑Cup arc that captured fans’ attention.

Why now? Because Ben’s journey isn’t just a feel‑good comeback – it's a blueprint. He stepped away when the system wasn’t serving him, rebuilt with clear routines and better decisions, and returned stronger. That mindset mirrors what leaders need in the AI era: a way to see clearly, govern with intent, and recover fast. It’s modern resilience, made real.

That ethos mirrors what today’s data leaders are doing as they modernize their estates. Talent will always matter, but over the long run consistent operating models win: clear visibility, principled guardrails, and dependable recovery. Those are the same muscles Ben flexes every week he tees it up – and the same muscles organizations need to thrive with AI.

“Ben’s journey back to the PGA TOUR is a master class in resilience," said Taylor Davenport, Chief Revenue Officer, Americas and Australasia. "His story shows that success isn’t about avoiding challenges - it’s about recovering quickly, learning, and moving forward with purpose. That mindset aligns perfectly with AvePoint’s commitment to helping our customers and partners build resilience into the way they work. We’re proud to welcome Ben to Team AvePoint, and look forward to supporting him as he continues to demonstrate what’s possible when determination meets the right foundation.”

From Course Management to Mission Control: See → Govern → Recover

Every great round starts with great course management: reading conditions, choosing the right shot, and managing risk. There are striking parallels to modern data protection:

• See (Visibility): Before a player ever swings, they and the caddie read the wind, lie, pin location, and map out potential trouble spots like a rogue sand trap. The enterprise equivalent is unified visibility: a mission‑control view of sensitive data, exposure, workspace sprawl, and AI agent activity across Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, and beyond. When leaders can see posture clearly – what’s sensitive, who has access, what’s overexposed – they make better decisions on the next shot.

• Govern (Guardrails): Course plans become repeatable swings; for organizations, policies become automated lifecycle and access controls that reduce risk without slowing the business. This is where governance earns its reputation as an enabler, not a blocker: consistent classification and retention; least‑privilege by default; and workspace hygiene that keeps collaboration productive and compliant. It’s the difference between hoping the ball finds the fairway and setting up the fairway with intent.
• Recover (Resilience): Even with perfect planning, bad bounces happen. That’s true of gusty afternoons at TPC Scottsdale and it’s true when ransomware strikes or a critical workspace is deleted. Precision restore and cyber‑recovery moves you from incident to impact minimization, such as preserving structure, versions, and permissions, so teams can keep working and trust stays intact.

Put together, Mission Control unifies security, governance, and resilience into a single operating rhythm leaders can trust: see → govern → recover.

What to Expect... On and Off the Course

This partnership comes to life at the WM Phoenix Open (Feb 5–8, 2026), where you’ll spot us as a bag sponsor (Keep an eye out for the AvePoint logo riding with Ben inside the ropes!). But the real value will be felt both on tour and in the boardroom, where together we’ll drive:

• Executive conversations & clinics: Intimate sessions where Ben’s approach to preparation and recovery meets practical see → govern → recover operating models for data programs. Expect honest dialogue, shared frameworks, and takeaways your leadership team can run with immediately.
• On‑course video insights: Short, high‑value episodes that connect shot selection and risk calculus to data governance and resilience – built for technology leaders and business stakeholders to watch together. These are not quick “snacks”; they’re compact, useful content designed to inform decisions.
• Behind‑the‑scenes moments: Follow Ben’s season with context from AvePoint experts on AI‑ready data posture and incident recovery drills – the same rhythm we recommend to customers and partners. Think of it as an ongoing case study in performing under pressure, translated into the language of data leadership.

“Resilience isn’t avoiding mistakes,” said Ben Griffin. “It’s having the right routines and systems to bounce back quickly. That’s how I approach every round, and sharing those principles makes my partnership with AvePoint exciting to me.”

Why It Matters for Data Leaders (and Their Businesses)

Most organizations don’t fail from one dramatic swing. They leak risk slowly through permission drift, lifecycle gaps, orphaned workspaces, and fragmented tools. The symptoms show up everywhere: slower audits, surprise exposures in generative AI pilots, and recovery plans that look great on paper but crumble under real‑world pressure.

A mission‑control approach changes that trajectory. Leaders gain a single, operational view to see exposure as it emerges, govern automatically with policies that scale across clouds, and recover precisely when the unexpected happens. Instead of bolting point solutions onto yesterday’s architecture, teams operate an integrated system where security, governance, and resilience reinforce each other.

The outcome? Faster incident response, lower operational drag, cleaner data for AI, and more confidence at the executive table. It’s the same feeling a player has standing over a pressure putt with a repeatable routine: not certainty that every putt will fall, but confidence that the process will hold.

Learn More & Get Involved

Follow AvePoint and Ben on social media this season as we kick off in Scottsdale at the Phoenix Open today. We’ll share episodes, frameworks, and opportunities to engage as we bring modern data protection from the golf course to your data estate – one decision under pressure at a time.