diff --git a/examples/operator/101_initial_cluster.yaml b/examples/operator/101_initial_cluster.yaml
index de627c61c50..c26219254f1 100644
--- a/examples/operator/101_initial_cluster.yaml
+++ b/examples/operator/101_initial_cluster.yaml
@@ -176,6 +176,7 @@ stringData:
     CREATE USER 'vt_dba'@'localhost';
     GRANT ALL ON *.* TO 'vt_dba'@'localhost';
     GRANT GRANT OPTION ON *.* TO 'vt_dba'@'localhost';
+    GRANT PROXY ON ''@'' TO 'vt_dba'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;
 
     # User for app traffic, with global read-write access.
     CREATE USER 'vt_app'@'localhost';