Don Listwin

With a focus on developing networking and data center technologies for the Internet, I began my career in 1980 at Develcon in Canada, marketing data switching technology for the mini-computer era. In the mid-1980s, I relocated to Silicon Valley and joined Cisco Systems in 1990. During a 10-year tenure at Cisco, I built the IBM business unit, the Access business unit, and the Service Provider line of business—overseeing business totaling more than $12 billion in annual revenue. In 2000, I became CEO of Openwave, which invented much of the early mobile Internet technology.

After 25 years of senior leadership operating experience, I founded the Canary Foundation in 2002 and dedicated myself to philanthropic work in science and technology for the early detection of cancer. The Canary Foundation is the world’s first non-profit organization focused solely on the funding, discovery, and development of tests for early cancer detection. I continue to be deeply involved with other cancer-related organizations. In 2009, I was appointed to the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Advisors. I am a member of the Stanford Advisory Board for the Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection at Stanford and in 2018 I was honored to be awarded the Dean's Medal—the highest honor bestowed by the School of Medicine to individuals whose contributions have significantly advanced the mission of Stanford Medicine. I am also an adjunct professor in Radiology at Stanford University.

From 2018–2021, I served as CEO of RapidAI— the worldwide leader in cerebrovascular imaging analysis, delivering the proven software tools that healthcare professionals around the world use to successfully identify and treat more stroke patients than ever before.

I live part-time in Belize where I scuba dive daily and work on restoring and protecting the barrier reef. In 2010, my wife and I created the non-profit BelizeKids.org to support local community and education initiatives and have created a partnership with Stanford to deliver eye care to the local community.

A native of Canada, I hold a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and an Honorary Doctor of Law from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada where I continue to actively support student entrepreneurs.