Keynote Speaker
Donald E. Bossi is the president of the global nonprofit FIRST®, where he is building on 25 years of experience as a successful technology executive to develop the next generation of innovators. FIRST is the world’s leading youth-serving nonprofit helping young people discover a passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and develop the skills they’ll need to succeed in today’s competitive workforce. Bossi has made it his mission to help bridge the gap between companies and educators to empower kids to reach their full potential, making hands-on STEM programs more widely available to students across the country and around the world.
Starting his career as a research scientist, first at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and then at United Technologies Research Center (UTRC), Bossi was a part of an advanced project at UTRC that was acquired by JDS Uniphase (JDSU), and he moved to the new company. Bossi became Vice President and General Manager for JDSU’s Electro-Optics Products Division, which grew tenfold during his involvement. Bossi next served as JDSU’s Group President for Active Components and then Transmission Products. In 2005, Bossi became a General Partner at Technology Ventures Partners to work with their high-tech portfolio companies. While at the venture group, he served as the CEO of Aegis Lightwave, Inc. and then as CEO of Inlet Technologies, positioning the company for a beneficial acquisition by Cisco.
Bossi is the holder of four U.S. patents and author of numerous technical presentations. He holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and has completed executive education courses at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He served on the Boards of Directors of several privately held companies and is also a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.
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