Champa Lo, the first full-time Technical Illustrator at MongoDB, discusses her journey into illustration and her unique role within the company, which involves defining an illustration style and fostering collaborative relationships to create meaningful visual narratives. Starting during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, she emphasizes the importance of understanding subject matter through research and conversations to produce engaging and purposeful illustrations. Her work spans various projects like diagrams, web illustrations, and campaigns, and she seeks to unify MongoDB's visual identity across different teams. Champa aims to ensure that MongoDB's illustrations are inclusive, diverse, and reflective of the company's personality, enhancing brand recognition and engagement. In a separate note, MongoDB CEO Dev Ittycheria announces his retirement effective November 2025, highlighting the decision's emotional difficulty and introducing Chirantan "CJ" Desai as his successor, praised for his growth-at-scale experience. This transition is positioned as a strategic step to propel MongoDB into its next phase, MongoDB 3.0, leveraging its strengths in AI and data-intensive applications.