Dean Drako

Dean Drako is an American businessman and entrepreneur who has started more than five companies. Drako was founder, president and CEO of Barracuda Networks[1] from 2003 to July 2012. Drako is currently President and CEO of Eagle Eye Networks,[2][3] IC Manage and Drako Motors. He is also chairman of Brivo.[4]

Dean Drako
Drako at the ES Design West 10 July 2019
Alma mater
OccupationParallel Entrepreneur
Board member of
WebsiteLinked in

He graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MS in Electrical Engineering from UC Berkeley.[5] As of 2020, Drako is a holder of 53 patents, including patents on video streaming, video storage, video analytics, digital image processing, network security & protocols, digital circuits, biochemical assays, and electric automobiles.[6]

Career history

In 1982, Drako founded his first company, which sold a bulletin board system software package called T-net, used to share messages via modems. Drako used the profits to fund his college education.[7][8]

In 1992, Drako founded Design Acceleration, Inc, served as its CEO,[9] and sold it to Cadence Design Systems in 1999.[10] Drako was also founder and CEO of Boldfish and Velosel;[11] Boldfish was acquired by Siebel Systems in 2003.[12] In 2003 Drako founded IC Manage,[13] where he continues to be president and CEO.[14]

Drako has written a number of articles on open source, big data, and system on chip design.[15][16][17][18]

Drako is a frequently invited speaker and contributor on the topic of entrepreneurship, including by UC Berkeley,[19][20][21] University of Michigan,[22] ISPD,[23] and Forbes.[24][25]

Barracuda Networks

Also in 2003, Drako founded Barracuda Networks and introduced their email spam and virus appliance product line.[26][27] Other Barracuda product lines launched during Drako's tenure were: web filters,[28] load balancers,[29] email archiving,[30] and digital PBXs.[31]

Drako executed six acquisitions by Barracuda Networks: In 2007, NetContinuum, an application controller company;[32] in 2008, BitLeap, a provider of cloud-based backup services,[33] and 3SP, an SSL and VPN company;[34] in 2009, Yosemite Technologies, for incremental backup of applications;[35] a controlling interest in phion AG, an Austria-based public enterprise-class firewalls company,[36] and Purewire Inc, a software as a service (SaaS) cloud-based web filtering and security company.[37]

Drako contributed to or supported 16 different open source projects while running Barracuda including Valgrind, Apache, and the Free Software Foundation.[38]

Barracuda was ranked #2 by Glassdoor in 2011, with Drako receiving an 88% approval rating.[39] Drako resigned from Barracuda Networks in July 2012 to found Eagle Eye Networks, while continuing to serve on Barracuda's board of directors until 2014.[40] At the time of Drako’s resignation, Barracuda stated it was profitable, generating hundreds of millions in annual revenue, close to 30% year-over-year growth since inception, and had surpassed 150,000 customers.[41][42]

IC Manage

In 2003, Drako also co-founded[43] IC Manage, which provides Design & IP Management, Big Data Analytics, and high performance computing Scale Out I/O & Cloud Bursting software. He continues to serve as President and CEO.[44]

Eagle Eye Networks

In July 2012, Drako founded Eagle Eye Networks, a cloud-based video security company, and serves as its CEO.[45][46]

In January 2014, Drako formally launched Eagle Eye Networks and introduced its cloud-managed video surveillance system. Eagle Eye’s goal was “to do for video surveillance what Dropbox did for file sharing by making video more available and far easier to use.”[47][48] Drako has been credited with establishing the concept of ‘true cloud’ in the physical security industry, to emphasize the differences between applications designed specifically for the cloud and legacy-design applications being run on a cloud-hosted virtual server.[49]

In 2019 Eagle Eye Networks ranked #133 on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list of fastest growing technology companies in North America, with 936% growth from 2015 to 2018.[50][51] In 2020, Eagle Eye Networks ranked #187 on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list, with 652% growth from 2016 to 2019.[52]

In 2021, Eagle Eye Networks acquired artificial intelligence company Uncanny Vision, with a stated goal to accelerate delivering practical AI-based analytics to businesses.[53] In 2022, Eagle Eye announced AI video search enabling customers to type in descriptions and then narrow results down by date, time, location, or camera.[54]

In 2023, Eagle Eye Networks raised $100M in financing; Drako continues to hold the majority share of the company.[55]

Brivo

Drako acquired Brivo,[56] a provider of cloud-based physical access control systems, in June 2015, and is serving as Brivo's Chairman. Brivo will sell its cloud-based access control systems along with Eagle Eye’s cloud-based security camera system, although the companies will continue to operate as separate entities.[57] In March 2020, Brivo announced that it acquired Parakeet as part of its expansion into smart buildings.[58][59] In November 2022, Brivo closed long-term senior secured credit facility of $75 million with Runway Growth Capital.[60] In 2023, Brivo raised $92M in financing, with Drako continuing to hold a majority share of the company.[61]

Drako Motors

Drako is co-founder[62] and CEO of Drako Motors, an electric sports car software platform provider, which on August 6, 2015 announced its first product, the Drako DriveOS, a single VCU (vehicle control unit) operating system which controls all four wheels independently.[63] In June 2019, Drako Motors pre-announced their Drako GTE electric quad-motor supercar, claiming speeds of up to 206 MPH and 1200 horsepower.[64] [65] [66] [67] In August 2019, Drako Motors formally launched the all-electric production Drako GTE.[68][69] In November 2022, Drako Motors launched the Drako Dragon all-electric luxury SUV, with 2,000 HP and 200+ mph maximum speed, quad motor powertrain, and two gullwing doors.[70][71]

LivingTree

In December 2016, Drako acquired LivingTree, a K-12 family engagement platform provider.[72] The acquisition was described as a "multimillion-dollar investment."[73] LivingTree provides a secure, community-wide platform for educators and parents to engage, independent of language preference, and is stated to address directives set by the Every Student Succeeds Act.[74]

Swift Sensors

Drako founded Swift Sensors, a cloud-based wireless sensor company, in May 2015. In Dec 2016, Drako formally launched Swift Sensors and introduced its cloud wireless sensor system.[75] Swift Sensors’ goal is to eliminate the pain and cost of Internet of Things sensing applications by offering a unified solution that requires no programming skills or technical expertise.[76] Drako will serve as the company's Executive Chairman.[77]

PermRecord and Permanent Legacy Foundation

In 2015, Drako created the PermRecord Foundation with the stated purpose "to ensure the preservation of materials placed in its trust."[78] This foundation contracted out to a commercial company, Permrecord, Inc., also founded by Drako, for its programming services.[78] By 2019 this mission had evolved "to preserve and provide perpetual access to the digital legacy of all people for the historical and educational benefit of future generations."[79] The foundation claims public charity status, but its public support percentage is zero, and it is completely controlled by its sole member (Dean Drako).[79] The foundation does not appear to have any perpetual means to accomplish its mission, subsisting on occasional grants from Drako.[79] The foundation's website hides its legal name and charity registration number under a "Brand Assets" page, but refers to itself under the DBA "Permanent Legacy Foundation".[80] Its home page promises "We invest your contributions into a nonprofit endowment" but there is no record of that endowment in its public accounting records.[79]

Awards and recognition

In 1984, Drako won finalist in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search for his solar energy research.[81]

In 2007, Drako was named Entrepreneur of the Year for Northern California for Networking and Communications by Ernst & Young.[82]

In 2011, during Drako's tenure as CEO, Barracuda Networks was ranked #2 of the 2011 Best Tech Co's to Work For in 2011 by Business Insider.[83]

In 2012, Drako was elected to the Board of Directors of the Electronic Design Automation Consortium board.[84]

Since 2012 Drako has served on the University of Michigan Advisory council. [85]

In 2014, Drako was selected as Keynote speaker for UC Berkeley Engineering Week, where he reviewed his 5 principles of entrepreneurship.[86] During the keynote, he stated his favorite business principle was keeping customers happy.[87]

In 2014, Goldman Sachs named Dean Drako as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2014.[88]

In 2016, Dean was commencement speaker at University of Michigan Engineering School.[89]

In 2022 and 2023, Drako was named Entrepreneur of the Year regional finalist by Ernst & Young.[90][91]

References
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