d-bits offers thoughts on a variety of situations sprinkled with what is hoped is at least an occasional epiphany.
These insights leverage a backpack full of executive experience from decades of involvement with dozens of organizations – from cold-start to Fortune 500 – pursuing early stage, technology and market development.
Among other intriguing tech adventures, David Dunnison has been involved with three notable Disruptive Innovation situations. One company was cited for its success by Clayton Christensen, the disruptive innovation guru, in his book The Innovator’s Solution. One technology was cited by Christensen in his book The Innovator’s Dilemma as having disruptive promise. The most recent situation is still in the process of disrupting its industry by leveraging strategies that David developed.
David’s experience spans operating, advising, governance and consulting roles in manufacturing, high tech and cleantech along with a couple of internationally successful athletic careers.
Building on roots in the forest industry, David’s career grew through agriculture in the developing world before heading for more fertile fields. After a long stop in the California semiconductor experience, David journeyed into the pre-dawn of cleantech, then out, and back in again when it became fashionable.
His career spans more than two dozen successes in formal roles of one kind or another. All of these successes tempered with one failure, however, when he tried to combine the best of the wireless, semiconductor, software and wine industries. That opportunity came too early, perhaps, as a few years later that same space was successfully pursued by the networking giants.
With extensive Board, CEO, and executive experience, David has spoken frequently on distributed resources, cleantech and alternate energy as well as on advocacy over activism. He also serves as a mentor and formal Advisor to a number of early stage companies.
David’s experience is drawn primarily from the cleantech, semiconductor and software industries. He was President and CEO of mesh-networking pioneer Accuzone, and the initial Executive in Residence at venture capital firm Yaletown Venture Partners – a role that he has recently returned to. Earlier, David was the Founding President and CEO of Protexis, a leader in software licensing and digital rights management. In fuel cells, David launched Ballard’s $400m distributed generation business leveraging $25m of investment. Most recently, David was VP Business Development at 6N Silicon where he negotiated and secured contracts and commitments with industry leaders totalling into the billions of dollars.
David currently serves as Executive In Residence at Cleantech VC Yaletown Venture Partners.
