Speaker Details

Dan is Executive Director of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, a Linux Foundation project and organization advancing the development of cloud native technologies. He also helped create and launch the Linux Foundation's Core Infrastructure Initiative.

He previously served as CTO of several startups, including Spreemo, a healthcare marketplace, and Shopbeam, a shoppable ads company.

As the #2 person at the Linux Foundation, Dan previously managed the not-for-profit trade group. Collaborating closely with the high-powered board representing the whole technology industry, Dan rebuilt the LF into one of the top industry consortia. He has continued to assist them, including in the development of the Node.js Foundation and the Blockchain-focused Hyperledger Foundation.

Dan was a general partner at Skymoon Ventures, a $70 M seed-stage venture capital firm that created startups in semiconductors and telecom infrastructure. He co-founded and served as the initial CEO of Pedestal Networks, an innovative DSL equipment company (sold to UT Starcom); Dash Networks, the first Internet-enabled automotive GPS device (sold to RIM); and Habeas, an email accreditation company (sold to Return Path).

For the previous 5 years, Dan helped manage several telecom firms controlled by Craig McCaw, including XO Communications, Nextel (now Sprint), and Teledesic. He served as a key negotiator in transforming a $12 million portal outsourcing payment from Nextel to Netscape into a $600 million investment by Microsoft into Nextel. He conducted board-level presentations as part of investor and contract negotiations around the world, raising over $1.6 B.

Dan started his career as founder and CEO of NetMarket, one of the first Internet companies. In 1994, he led the development of the first music store on the web, including conducting the first secure commercial transaction, deploying the first commercial database-backed website, and implementing the first shopping cart. He later sold NetMarket to Cendant, a multi-billion dollar membership services company. Dan lives in Manhattan with his wife and two sons.

He can be reached at [email protected].