James Whittaker

James Whittaker's career, starting in 1986, has crossed the domains of academia, start-ups, and top tech companies.

He was the first computer science graduate to be hired by the FBI. He then moved on to freelancing during his graduate school days at the University of Tennessee, working for major tech companies such as IBM, Ericsson, SAP, and Cisco. His next venture was joining the faculty at Florida Institute of Technology where he not only obtained promotion to full professor but also won over $12m in sponsored research and built a research startup that Raytheon later acquired.

Whittaker's tenure at Microsoft began as an individual contributor working on Windows and Trustworthy Computing, followed by Visual Studio. He later joined Google as an engineering director, leading teams working on Chrome, Chrome OS, Maps, and Google+. In 2012, Whittaker returned to Microsoft to lead machine learning efforts on Bing and Cortana. His abilities as a speaker and storyteller led him to become Microsoft’s first Distinguished Technical Evangelist.

Known for being a creative and passionate leader, Whittaker is also a sought-after speaker and author. He has written five technical books, two of which are best-sellers and two have been Jolt Award finalists. He regularly speaks to technical, marketing, and advertising audiences on subjects like the future of man and machine. Whittaker has been a speaker at events such as ANA Disrupt at CES, IAB Engage UK, Advertising Week Europe, Digital Life Design, Business Insider Ignite, Pitch @The Palace, the CIO Summit, and SXSW.

After retiring in 2019, he began focusing on in-person experiences through his brewery and taproom enterprise on the east side of Seattle. He still maintains his connection to the tech world by collaborating with young founders and serving on the boards of interesting companies.