Nicolas (Neela) Jacques

Nicolas (Neela) Jacques has had a diverse career in the technology industry. Nicolas (Neela) started their career at VMware in 2006, where they held various roles and achieved notable accomplishments, such as driving the Software-Defined Datacenter (SDDC) vision and launching successful products. Nicolas (Neela) also played a key role in expanding VMware's presence in the cloud computing space through the VMware Service Provider Program.

In 2013, Jacques joined the Linux Foundation as the Vice President and Executive Director of the OpenDaylight Project. Under their leadership, the project became a major open source initiative with significant developer and organizational contributions. Nicolas (Neela) left the Linux Foundation in 2017 to join Bain Capital Ventures as an Entrepreneur in Residence.

Following their time at Bain Capital Ventures, Jacques founded their own consulting firm, ScaleNV, in 2017. The firm specialized in providing strategic advice, messaging and positioning expertise, and open source guidance to early and growth stage technology companies.

In 2018, they joined Barracuda as the Vice President of Product Marketing, where they played a crucial role in driving the company's product marketing strategy. After leaving Barracuda in 2020, Jacques joined Isovalent, a Series B startup, as an Advisor and later as the Vice President of Marketing. During their time at Isovalent, they successfully launched the company out of stealth mode, expanded the community, and significantly grew the company's ARR.

In 2021, Jacques co-founded Stardust Systems, a startup focused on Network Observability and Network Health. In 2022, they joined SightCall as an Advisor and Consultant, where they supported the CEO and executive team on various go-to-market initiatives.

Currently, Jacques holds the position of VP of Marketing (fractional) at Dagger, a game-changing startup aimed at revolutionizing the software supply chain. Nicolas (Neela) is focused on driving a world-class go-to-market (GTM) strategy and expects some exciting developments in the next 12 months.

Throughout their career, Jacques has demonstrated their expertise in GTM, strategic planning, messaging and positioning, and open source. Nicolas (Neela) has a strong track record of success in driving growth and delivering results for the companies they have worked with.

Neela Jacques completed their high school education at Choate Rosemary Hall from 1992 to 1994, where they obtained a high school diploma (HS). They then attended Georgetown University from 1994 to 1998 and earned a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (B.S.F.S.), though the specific field of study is not mentioned. Later, Neela pursued further education at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business from 2002 to 2004 and graduated with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, specializing in Finance and Marketing.