Kirk Owen

Kirk Owen has extensive work experience in business development and sales, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence and voice technology. Kirk is currently the Head of Business Development at Bespoken, a position they have held since November 2022. Prior to this, they served as the Director of Business Development at Bespoken from March 2020 to November 2022.

Before joining Bespoken, Owen founded Voice Intelligence in December 2019, where they worked as a fractional enterprise sales and business development professional for AI companies. Kirk focused on helping clients grow revenue, channels, and partnerships across various voice platforms and vertical markets. Owen held this position until November 2022.

Owen also held the role of VP of Voice Services (business development) at Native Voice from April 2021 to October 2022. At XAPPmedia, they served as the Vice President of Business Development from November 2018 to December 2019. In this role, they developed go-to-market strategies, closed enterprise sales, and built partnerships with voice technology platforms. Notably, they played a key role in delivering an innovative interactive voice radio campaign that drove product orders through smart speakers.

Prior to their roles in voice technology companies, Owen worked at Amazon as a Senior Business Development Manager for Alexa 3P from September 2017 to November 2018. Kirk also served as the General Manager at TotalCast, a division of Capitol Broadcasting Company, from June 2014 to January 2017. In this position, they led sales, business development, partnerships, marketing, product management, product development, recruiting, vendor management, and engineering for a B2B TV Everywhere startup.

Owen's earlier experience includes serving as the CEO of Zenph, Inc from July 2012 to May 2014. During their tenure, they led sales, business development, strategy, demand generation, marketing, and cloud-based product development. Kirk successfully launched and established The Zenph Online Education Network as a leader in live, online music learning.

Before Zenph, Owen worked at NetHope as a Program Manager - Gaming from February 2011 to July 2012. Kirk managed a social gaming program and developed strategic relationships with companies like Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, and cellular service providers in Jordan.

Owen's career started at The Walt Disney Company, where they worked as an Executive Producer, leading a team responsible for creating branded and original intellectual property social games. Kirk held this role from April 2010 to January 2011.

Prior to Disney, Owen co-founded Merscom LLC in October 1999 and served as the CEO until April 2010. Under their leadership, Merscom became a multimillion-dollar online and retail game publishing and development business. Kirk successfully raised outside capital and led the sale of Merscom to Playdom. Owen's achievements include recruiting, developing, and leading a sales organization that consistently generated annual multimillion-dollar revenue growth and profitability.

Overall, Kirk Owen's work experience demonstrates their expertise in business development and sales, specifically in the fields of AI, voice technology, gaming, and entertainment.

Kirk Owen has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from Claremont McKenna College. Kirk also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in General Management from Duke University - The Fuqua School of Business. In addition to their formal education, Kirk has obtained certifications in various subjects including Learning Salesforce, Machine Learning Essential Training: Value Estimations, and Machine Learning Fundamentals: Learning to Make Recommendations from LinkedIn.