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Chris Hilsenbeck
Ex-Meraki, Aruba, Cruise Automation
Chris Hilsenbeck is a technology executive currently serving as the VP of Business Systems, IT, and Analytics at Skydio, a company known for its work in autonomous drones.12 He is an execution-focused leader with a strong background in IT Service Management (ITSM), program management, and process improvement.1
Professional Experience
Prior to his role at Skydio, Chris has held leadership positions at several prominent technology companies:
- Cruise Automation: He led the IT department at Cruise, a company focused on autonomous vehicle technology.6
- Aruba Networks: Chris worked at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, before joining Cruise.6
- Meraki: He has experience working at Meraki, a cloud-managed IT company.34
Skills and Expertise
Chris's professional background suggests expertise in:
- IT leadership and management
- Business systems implementation and optimization
- Analytics and data-driven decision making
- SaaS (Software as a Service) technologies5
- Employee experience management5
Online Presence
Chris maintains an active presence on LinkedIn, where he shares insights on various topics related to technology, business, and leadership. His LinkedIn username is confirmed to be "hilsenbeck".345 He frequently posts about industry trends, career advice, and job opportunities in his network.
Location
Based on his LinkedIn profile, Chris Hilsenbeck is located in the San Francisco Bay Area2, which aligns with Skydio's presence in the region as a technology company.
Highlights
Here's some hard-won advice from The Valley, over 15 years of IT leadership:
- Find people that lift you up. The best is to find a manager that listens, supports, and trusts you. Run away from micromanagers.
- "Help is not on the way". Repeat this to yourself, daily.
- The good news is, we can solve this problem. The bad news is, WE have to solve this problem.
- Execs rarely know more than anyone else, and often know less. An exec that is willing to roll up their sleeves and get sh*t done is worth 10 that won't.
- Doing a great job is way harder than you think it's going to be, every time. Tough it out, use grit, get it done and expect the same amount of effort every single time.
Hey SaaS builders!
Please stop charging us for your new "AI" feature. You should already be prioritizing great summarization and search. Please just listen to your customers and build this in. Folks are getting tired of the AI tax!
Also, please stop charging us for SSO. You're directly contributing to the weakening of US infosec and defense posture. You need to build SSO into all your pricing tiers. Folks are getting tired of the SSO tax!
- signed, a concerned corprorate citizen
