Dan Pitt personal email
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An acknowledged industry and thought leader in data networking, telecom, SDN, NFV, and IT, I have brought vision, growth, success, management excellence, and great culture to organizations large and small, publicly and privately held, for-profit and non-profit, to make strategic investments and decisions regarding business, technology, standards, and open source. I actively promote diversity in engineering and technology for underrepresented groups. In 2019 named by Capacity Media as a Top 20 SDN Market Leader (see link below).Competencies include networking, telecom, and information technology; industry positioning; strategies for standards, software-ization, 5G, and open-source; and business and digital transformation; with outstanding communication and interpersonal skills.I am always open to exciting opportunities to contribute as an operational executive, member of the board of directors, or strategic advisor for public or private companies.Key roles have included:EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP: Ran an industrial R&D organization in five countries on four continents with a $50M/year budget developing new products and technologies that brought significant impact to the company’s bottom line and market valuation. Ran a pioneering global tech trade association that revolutionized computer networking in data centers, enterprise networks, telecom networks, and the Internet. Currently a senior executive (retired but active) in a global, telecom trade association leading digital transformation; also continuing a longstanding consultancy sought after by companies in early growth stages.STARTUP LEADERSHIP: Ran two startup companies and served in CxO roles in two others, culminating in business growth and a profitable exit.ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP: Served as dean of engineering at a prominent Silicon Valley university and built strong industrial links, launched a bioengineering program, raised the school’s ranking from below 100 to the top 15, and excelled at fundraising. While in industrial roles also served on academic advisory councils in Europe and the U.S., endowed a chair at a top 5 engineering school, and started a joint lab at the top university in China.STARTUP ADVISING: Board member or advisor to CEO, COO, and top VPs of select startup companies, guiding them to relentless focus and compelling business value. Currently a formal advisor to and investor in a select number of promising ventures, including in women's health.For fun I also edit the only exhaustive guide to Downtown Palo Alto restaurants: http://www.DowntownPaloAltoRestaurants.com.
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PresidentPalo Alto Innovation AdvisorsPalo Alto, Ca, Us
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Strategic AdvisorTechifab Apr 2024 - PresentRadeberg, Saxony, DeTECHiFAB has invented the TiF-MEMRiSTOR, which realizes the holy grail of Memristors: real-time data processing and storage within the same memristor cell. This will redefine the landscape of information and communication technology, enable analog processing (finally), and potentially revolutionize the AI data center with dramatic reductions in energy consumption and vast increases in processing speed for training of ML models. -
Strategic AdvisorXblock - Techstars'23 Nov 2022 - PresentMinneapolis, Minnesota, UsxBlock is revolutionizing the way organizations capture and leverage institutional knowledge. This Organizational Intelligence System integrates both explicit and tacit knowledge, addressing critical challenges such as executive exodus, skill mismatches, and the loss of experiential wisdom. The company has written its own LLMs, and is a Techstars 2023 winner! -
Strategic Advisor And Head Of Corporate DevelopmentX-Celeprint Jun 2021 - PresentCork, IeX-Celeprint is a technology leader in heterogeneous integration, enabling the fabrication of hybrid or heterogeneous semiconductor chips, such as those combining active photonics grown on III-V semiconductors with passive photonics grown on silicon, all of incredibly small dimensions, for manufacturers of computing systems, I/O devices, telecommunications equipment, storage technologies, environmental sensors, medical devices, and authenticated products. With a portfolio of over 700 patents related to Micro Transfer Printing and clean-room facilities in Cork, Ireland and Durham, North Carolina, X-Celeprint is at the core of new product categories powered by the tiniest of chiplets. -
Strategic Advisor And InvestorJoin Digital Jul 2018 - PresentCampbell, California, UsJoin Digital brings workers to their work by providing turnkey solutions to campuses and enterprise branch offices. By combining Campus NaaS with Internet access, Join Digital offers a complete OpEx service requiring no IT staff on site, no worry about equipment and software upgrades, and high-speed, secure connectivity, all cloud-managed. In addition, building owners and tenants can get data and analytics for usage, occupancy, and even interior air quality. Join Digital's solution is ideal for flex space. -
Strategic Advisor And InvestorGigaio Mar 2017 - PresentCarlsbad, California, UsGigaIO brings agility, composability, and dramatically lower latency and TCO to operators of data centers and compute clusters. Their rack-scale composable infrastructure makes the previously esoteric capabilities of High-Performance Computing available to the exploding need for Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and other forms of AI anywhere it is needed. -
PresidentPalo Alto Innovation Advisors 2007 - PresentAs President of Palo Alto Innovation Advisors I have advised and served as an executive at startups in Silicon Valley, Canada, the U.K., China, and Australia. Operational experience includes roles as CEO of Vancouver-based Locarna Systems (mobile eye tracking for academic and market researchers), VP of strategy and business development at BookRenter.com (leading textbook rental company in Silicon Valley), COO at Valence Energy (smart micro-grid startup in Silicon Valley with significant presence in India, acquired by Serious Materials), and CEO of mContext.com, which operated for a while as CohesiveData.com (XML compression technology for the mobile market), incubated in National ICT Australia (NICTA); NICTA has now been folded back into CSIRO. Valence Energy and Bookrenter were SCU student companies.Formal advising has included companies as diverse as Meru Networks (enterprise WiFi, acquired by Fortinet), Vquence (web video technology and services), Monitoring Division Inc. (optical fiber impairment monitoring), Crossfiber (optical switching), TeraBlaze (packet processing, acquired by Agere), Algo-Logic (FPGA gateware for financial services), Daho Networks (DCI in China, acquired by Zenlayer), and those offering hardware acceleration of packet processing, IT energy saving, multi-cloud networking, nanoscale photonics fabrication, and rapid service provisioning. Current advising roles include those listed above; others are confidential but increasingly include life sciences and women's health.
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Executive In ResidencePlug And Play Tech Center 2009 - PresentSunnyvale, Ca, UsFrom 2009-2011 and 2017-present I have served as an Executive-in-Residence at the Plug and Play Tech Center at their Sunnyvale, California headquarters. Plug & Play is the world's most successful startup accelerator, incorporating in-house investments, space leasing, corporate programs, VC partnerships, pitch sessions, and expos, all organized around 20+ industry verticals. Plug & Play maintains a presence in over 40 cities around the world and partners with universities, governments, nearly 200 VC firms, over 550 corporate partners, and other bodies to build innovation cultures, bring leading startups to the U.S. for immersion programs, and direct venture capital to promising companies all over the globe. In this role I evaluate around 1200 companies a year and have advised, both formally and informally, numerous founders and CEOs. I have recruited corporate partners and other EIRs and contributed to orientation programs for new companies. For me this is not only gratifying but also an opportunity for me to learn continuously. The leadership team and the culture of Plug & Play cause me to serve with great pleasure. -
Senior Vp (Ret.)Mef Forum Jan 2017 - PresentLos Angeles, California, UsMEF (formerly the Metro Ethernet Forum) is the driving force behind a transformational global services framework for defining, delivering, and certifying assured services orchestrated across a global ecosystem of automated networks for the telecom industry. I moved from ONF to MEF because that was where the customers for our work on SDN and NFV were – 100+ telecom operators – and I wanted to see these technologies deployed for commercial success and user benefit. I have therefore helped the industry move from static Carrier Ethernet-only to all the dynamic and automated L1-7 services and constructs of MEF 3.0. I have gained recognition of MEF's Lifecycle Service Orchestration and the MEF 3.0 framework by a broader, global ecosystem of members and partner organizations, especially in North Asia, and have spoken passionately all over the globe on the strategic business importance of this aspect of digital transformation. I have nurtured the early-stage SD-WAN, 5G slicing, and Lean NFV projects and developed the main points of the MEF 5G strategy. My contributions in thought leadership and relationship building have opened new vistas for MEF and the telecom industry. In my partially retired role I remain involved in a number of initiatives and continue to nurture the relationships I established for new and prospective members. -
Selection Committee Chair, Anita Borg Technical Leadership AwardAnitab.Org 2010 - 2022Sacramento, California, UsIt has been my privilege to chair the selection committee for this prestigious award, the organization's top one. The committee is made up exclusively of previous award winners, and all these women are legendary. My job is to refine and guide the nomination and selection processes and make it easy for these busy women to evaluate the many amazing candidates. My two great privileges are (1) informing the winner of the award, and (2) introducing her for her seminar at the Grace Hopper conference, which I enjoy attending every year. In 2019 26,000 women and a few hundred men attended, and the award winner's keynote was, at her request, a fireside chat with me. AI pioneer Dr. Fei-Fei Li of Stanford was that year's winner. In 2022 the conference was 50% in person, 50% virtual by design, with registration capped at 15,000 each. I attended in person and conducted a fireside chat with award winner Dr. Daphne Koller, CEO of Insitro (and formerly co-founder and CEO of Coursera and pioneer in machine learning). -
Executive DirectorOpen Networking Foundation Mar 2011 - Sep 2016Palo Alto, California, UsAs Executive Director at ONF's public launch, I basically turned SDN into a global movement. My responsibilities were all those of a chief executive, from organizing and overseeing the technical activities to financial, HR, and PR and managing a host of outsourced service organizations as well as motivating nearly all the work to be done by volunteers from member companies. Through disciplined financial management I built up a financial surplus of several million dollars in five years and led a successful, four-year campaign to obtain tax-exempt status from the IRS despite repeated government efforts to deny.ONF was launched in March 2011 by founding board members Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, Verizon, and Deutsche Telekom along with 17 other tech leaders. We were the first organization to champion Software-Defined Networking. The mission has been to accelerate the adoption and commercial success of open SDN. SDN allows networks to be completely programmable and customizable using advances in computing that have long eluded the networking space, mainly by separating the switching and routing hardware from the control software, which can run externally on commodity servers. ONF standardized the OpenFlow protocol to load flow tables into standard switch hardware, along with simple control and management protocols, and fostered implementation and interoperability in hardware and software instantiations. ONF defined key programming interfaces and contributed to major open-source projects. Membership grew to over 140 companies and over 2000 volunteers under my leadership. ONF enjoyed especially strong growth in AsiaPac, and I brought NTT Communications and Goldman Sachs to the Board of Directors. In general ONF cultivated a broad SDN ecosystem and inspired the creation of a number of more narrowly focused organizations therein. Think "Software-Defined [fill in the blank]". -
Dean Of EngineeringSanta Clara University 2002 - 2007Santa Clara, Ca, UsOversaw all six departments in the School of Engineering and promoted faculty and student research, sustainability, engineering as an instrument of social justice, and entrepreneurship. The sustainability thrust led to the university's winning 3rd Prize in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition – twice – beating out major research universities like MIT, CMU, and Illinois. Launched the new program (now department) of bioengineering. Successful at (and loved) fundraising, bringing in seven-figure gifts and strengthening bonds with alumni from the class of 1950 onward. Successfully recruited top faculty, students, and industrial partners and advisory board members, including prominent Silicon Valley executives both male and female. Raised national undergraduate program ranking from #120 to #14. Became #1 in U.S. in percentage of tenure-track faculty women. Quadrupled number of freshman women. Supported underrepresented minorities by joining SWE and NSBE (still a member of both). Worked closely with the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management to optimize the incoming freshman class. Served prominently on the national Engineering Deans Council. Organized and co-chaired 2006 and 2007 Engineering Deans Institutes. Assisted the University's Chief Investment Officer in representing the university in the LP meetings for 12 VC firms and 18 funds, nearly all of which were engineering- and technology-related. -
Vice President, Technology Center, And Vice President, Academic PartnershipsNortel Networks 1999 - 2002CaFollowing Nortel's acquisition of Bay Networks, ran a $50 million organization of 300 in nine cities in five countries on four continents to bring numerous valuable new networking and signal-processing technologies and products to markets worldwide. Worked with the highest levels of administration at world-leading universities to develop multi-dimensional win-win partnerships. Employed sabbatical faculty, focused Nortel's previously scattershot support of university faculty to larger and more strategic investments and followed the philosophy of finding the most innovative professors and supporting them to take their research wherever it led (as opposed to using them as developers for hire). Established a joint laboratory at Tsinghua University (Beijing). Served on Richard Newton's advisory board at UC Berkeley and helped found the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) there. Served actively in the Bay Area Science and Innovation Consortium (BASIC), part of the Bay Area Economic Council, to lower the barriers to collaboration among industry, academia, and government, along with vice chancellors for research, top-level university-relations staff in industry, and leading government laboratory leaders. -
Vice President And Lab DirectorBay Networks Inc. 1997 - 1999Tampa, Florida, UsFounded and built the Bay Architecture Lab at the express invitation of Dave House, chairman, CEO, and president of Bay Networks, and served on his executive staff. Drove technology development, new-product incubation, and worldwide technical standards in networking, including perhaps the industry's first prototype of a core/optical switch with a separate control plane, foreshadowing SDN. Developed processes and business models for the Lab to partner with product divisions in conducting focused, high-risk development in the lab and handing off to the divisions projects that had met specific milestones, sending with them the mission, staff, and funding. Held corporate responsibility for university relations; established key academic partnerships (including a strategic partnership with the Fuqua School of Business at Duke) and endowed a chair in EECS at UC Berkeley. When Nortel acquired Bay, the Architecture Lab's patent portfolio alone was valued at more than $100 million. -
Manager, Multimedia Systems, Hewlett Packard LaboratoriesHp 1992 - 1997Palo Alto, Ca, UsManaged two departments that pioneered HP's residential broadband strategy and architecture, from video and Internet servers and telecom head-ends to cable modems and home gateways. Partnered with Stanford, UCSD, CMU, Harvard, Georgia Tech, and Macquarie University (Sydney). -
Manager, Customer Premises NetworksIbm Zurich Research Lab 1990 - 1992Armonk, New York, Ny, UsDeveloped operational gigabit networks and ran four European Community collaborative research projects on the harmonization of enterprise and telecom networks. Many of the advancements were shipped in IBM products and some went on to become global standards. Established a cooperative PhD program with EPFL and advised research programs there until the mid-2000s. -
Standards Project Authority, Local Area NetworksIbm Zurich Research Lab 1987 - 1990Armonk, New York, Ny, UsChief SNA architect for token-ring LAN and IBM's Standards Project Authority for LANs worldwide, contributing actively to IEEE Project 802 and gaining standardization for all aspects of IBM's LAN product architecture in all international bodies. Taught as an adjunct professor at Duke (EE and CS) and UNC (CS), introducing the first networking courses and publishing papers with students.
Dan Pitt Skills
Dan Pitt Education Details
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Brookline High SchoolMass. -
Duke UniversityMathematics (Magna Cum Laude)
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Stanford University Graduate School Of BusinessExecutive Education: Managing Technology And Strategic Innovation
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University Of California, Berkeley, Haas School Of BusinessExecutive Education: Financial Management For Non-Financial Executives
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University Of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignComputer Science
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University Of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignComputer Science
Frequently Asked Questions about Dan Pitt
What company does Dan Pitt work for?
Dan Pitt works for Palo Alto Innovation Advisors
What is Dan Pitt's role at the current company?
Dan Pitt's current role is President.
What is Dan Pitt's email address?
Dan Pitt's email address is dan.pitt@me.com
What is Dan Pitt's direct phone number?
Dan Pitt's direct phone number is +161780*****
What schools did Dan Pitt attend?
Dan Pitt attended Brookline High School, Duke University, Stanford University Graduate School Of Business, University Of California, Berkeley, Haas School Of Business, University Of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University Of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
What are some of Dan Pitt's interests?
Dan Pitt has interest in Science And Technology, Social Services.
What skills is Dan Pitt known for?
Dan Pitt has skills like Start Ups, Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Cloud Computing, Telecommunications, Strategic Partnerships, Business Development, Networking, Business Strategy, Management, Thought Leadership, Leadership.
Who are Dan Pitt's colleagues?
Dan Pitt's colleagues are Anthony Karai, Konio Paru, Sam Nathan, Knut Hueper, Milan Obradovic, Ji Zhao, Angela Miles.
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