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Expertise

$2.50/min

Product Commercialization

(1)

Created 10 years ago in Technology / Other

To give you some background, my entrepreneurial experience was gained as a key part of the team that profitably grew Vecima (www.vecima.com) from $0 to $120 million and over 900 staff.

I have a strong pedigree in collaborating with customers including major OEMs like Cisco and Motorola, consumer automation focused companies like Control4 and Lowes, as well as Government Agencies in the US, Singapore, and India.

I have a deep technical background and have successfully led teams in the design and commercialization of a range of software-driven networked products in telecom, military and the Internet of Things (IoT) markets.

My business experiences include the opportunity to lead through several M&A, turnaround, and early stage experiences,

During these diverse roles, I learned how to build and lead strong teams, manage a myriad of operational skill sets, and effectively communicate the company’s strategic vision to both internal and external stakeholders.

Douglas Fast

Vancouver, BC, Canada
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I really enjoy working with product-focused companies and sharing my experiences bending metal, writing code, building boards, and optimizing manufacturing. I particularly enjoys the challenges at the intersections: physical and digital (IoT), software and hardware business and engineering, companies and customers, people and technology. In my day job, I am the Founder and CEO of Dark Water Tek. A consultancy that provides guidance to clients that are commercializing products – particularly products that incorporate hardware as a key element.

5.0

Reviews (4)

Top notch advice

Source: Clarity Stefan davy Sep 2, 2015

“I had the pleasure of working with Douglas at Vecima. When he was Executive Vice-President of Vecima, the dedicated team that Douglas built over the years and the value they delivered played a huge role in driving the explosive growth Vecima experienced during that time - the tremendous financial success that Vecima realized was due in large part to his vision, gifted technical capability and management leadership. Later, in his capacity of President of Spectrum Signal I reported directly to Douglas. I would gladly do so again. His leadership, passion and strong communication skills challenged performance limitations and he thereby received high accountability and excellence from his staff. He has a very high intellect that he combines with creative problem solving which produces the desired results. He knows how to make a company successful.”

Source: LinkedIn Jim Shedden Mar 31, 2015

Douglas was not only a capable engineer, but a well organized manager of personnel and projects. His understanding of software processes and hardware development, as well as understanding of how to apply the skills of those around him, allowed us to rapidly achieve goals and complete milestones in very short turns.

His ability to see the human side of the personnel issues we dealt with everyday made some tough issues easier to deal with, and definitely improved the communications of the leadership to the rest of the teams he managed.

Source: LinkedIn Scott M. Davis Mar 31, 2015

Douglas Fast is an excellent leader of people and teams, personable and encouraging, putting together the right set of people to get the job done. With his strong engineering background he is able to quickly identify the main issues - both technical and business - and strategies to address them and then he follows up with the resources and connections that make for first class results.

Source: LinkedIn Cameron Taylor Mar 31, 2015