Darren Hakeman

Darren Hakeman began their career in 1993 at Savi Technology, where they started as a firmware engineer and worked their way up to various roles in engineering, product management, marketing, business development, and operations. In 1999, they were part of a team that led the buy-out of the company with VC/PE backing. From 2009 to 2013, Darren worked as an independent consultant, providing strategy development, fundraising, business development, market analysis, and financial modeling services to start-ups and spin-outs. In 2013, they joined 8x8, Inc. as the SVP of Strategy, Analytics & Corp Dev, where they played a key role in transitioning the company into a leading fully-integrated cloud communications platform. Darren also sourced and executed seven acquisitions during their tenure. In 2021, Darren became an independent advisor, investor, and stay-at-home dad. Currently, they are the President of Genesis Digital, LLC, leading the team in expanding their global go-to-market and delivering an exceptional customer experience.

Darren Hakeman studied at Stanford University, where they obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and later pursued a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with a specialization in Information Theory.