Key Words

JOHN DILLON
John has more than 30 years of experience building high-growth technology companies, and a passion for empowering developers creating next-gen applications in the cloud. His engineering background, deeply ingrained sales DNA, customer-first approach make him a remarkable leader. “I’m a serial entrepreneur and engineer at heart, and I carry that perspective with me in my role as CEO. I’m fascinated with analyzing business models, solidifying the areas that work and tackling the challenges that slow growth so companies can maximize their full potential.”

John previously held CEO roles at Engine Yard, Hyperion Solutions, Navis and Salesforce.com. Earlier in his career he was an engineer at Electronic Data Systems and held sales management roles at Oracle as the relational database management company grew from $100M to $1B.

RYAN POPPLE
Ryan Popple is the president and CEO of Proterra, the leading innovator of zero-emission, battery-electric buses. Prior to Proterra, Ryan was a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. An early employee of Tesla Motors, he was senior director of finance, with a focus on strategic planning, technology cost reduction and corporate finance. Ryan serves as a board member of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and is focused on increasing access to affordable, sustainable transportation solutions throughout Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, through strategic partnerships and policy initiatives. He is also a member of the California League of Conservation Voters Green Advisory Council where he provides guidance on political and legislative priorities, communications planning and development efforts. Ryan has served in the U.S. Army, received a bachelor’s in business administration from the College of William & Mary and a master’s in business administration from Harvard University.

DON FAUL
Don is the CEO at Athos, a next generation smart clothing company focused on helping people train more effectively.  Prior to Athos, Don was the Head of Operations at Pinterest, where he led community support and outreach, international growth, and business partnerships and sales.  Before joining Pinterest, Don served as the Vice President of Online Operations at Facebook, where he built and led the company’s global user, developer and payments and risk operations teams. Don joined Facebook from Google, where he built and managed the operations supporting merchants using Google’s commerce and payments products. He started his career as a Marine Infantry Officer, serving as a Platoon Commander with 1st Light Armored Battalion and 1st Force Reconnaissance Company. Don completed combat tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq before leaving active duty in 2003. Don graduated with Honors from the United States Naval Academy with a BS in Systems Engineering and received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.