Dan Pickett

Daniel T. Pickett III (born July 27, 1968) is an American technology entrepreneur, private equity investor and philanthropist. He is the chairman, chief executive and co-founder of nfrastructure, a privately held networking and IT services firm.^[1] He is also President of Hudson River Capital Holdings, a private investment company in New York.^[2]

Early life and education

Pickett was born in 1968 in Troy, New York. Pickett was brought up in Mechanicville, New York, a small city north of Albany, where his parents owned a liquor store. Pickett received his degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the field of Industrial and Management Engineering.^[2]

Business career

Beginning his career in 1990, Pickett worked at KeyCorp in Albany, New York.^[2] During his time with KeyCorp, Pickett worked in the area of technology and operations. Pickett was responsible for integrating the retail delivery platforms and networks of several acquisitions.^[2] Over a five-year period with KeyCorp, Pickett was appointed vice-president.^[2]

While serving at KeyCorp, Pickett co-founded nfrastructure with his brother and his father in the basement of the family’s liquor store. nfrastructure helps large enterprises design, build, and support integrated technology environments. nfrastructure’s first customer was IBM.^{[3] [4][5][6]}

After serving with KeyCorp, Pickett founded ACE Software Sciences in 1995. ACE Software Sciences was known for creating the MaxMilion software product. MaxMilion was acquired in 1999 by ALLTEL, a technology company that provides wireline and wireless communications and information services in 54 countries and territories. Pickett joined ALLTEL with the acquisition, where he rose to the role of Senior Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Banking Solutions.^[4][5]

In 2003, Pickett founded Hudson River Capital Holdings, a private investment company that specializes in growth-stage private equity investments.^[4]

In 2005, Pickett was appointed chairman of the board of nfrastructure, and was appointed its CEO in July 2008.^[4] In 2013, Inc. Magazine named nfrastructure to its Build 100 list of most sustained growth companies.^[7]In 2016, nfrastructure was acquired by Zones, creating a $1.5 billion global technology company with operations in Seattle, Toronto, Chicago, New York, London and New Delhi. Pickett is CEO of nfrastructure, that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Zones.^[8]

Pickett credits Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, a theoretical physicist, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate from MIT;^[9][10] and John Cavalier, former president of Atari and executive at Apple who worked with Steve Jobs and was Steve Wozniak’s boss, as mentors who have been very influential and helpful to his career.^[11]

Board experience

Pickett is a former director of Gilda’s Club Capital Region New York, elected in 2010. The club was named in tribute to comic actress Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. It is now known as the Cancer Support Community.^[12][13]

In April, 2012, Pickett was named to the board of directors of Albany Medical Center and Albany Medical College.^[1][2][13]

Albany Medical Center, northeastern New York's only academic health sciences center, incorporates the 651-bed Albany Medical Center Hospital, and the Albany Medical College.^[13]

In January, 2016, Pickett was named to the board of trustees of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Pickett is also a member of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Industrial and Systems Engineering Advisory Council.^[14][15] Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is the nation’s oldest technological research university.^[16]

Pickett also serves on the boards of the Pickett Family Foundation and Vanguard Behavioral Solutions.^[1][2]

Media

In May 2012, Pickett was interviewed by ABC during President Obama’s visit to the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, New York.^[17]

In September 2012, Pickett and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak participated together in a panel on “The Future of Tech Valley.” Pickett and Wozniak were joined by Peter Schultz, the co-inventor of fiber optics and John Cavalier, retired CEO of MapInfo and Wozniak’s former boss at Apple.^[18]

In February 2014, Pickett appeared in Inc. Magazine sharing his thoughts on smart growth strategies at nfrastructure.^[19]

In June 2014, Pickett was interviewed by ABC’s “20/20” for a segment titled “To Catch a Fake.” The segment focused on how some job applicants purchase fake credentials and what companies can do to catch them.^[20]

In May 2015, Pickett appeared in Forbes sharing his thoughts on culture as a key to success.^[21]

Philanthropy

In December, 2001, Pickett founded the Pickett Family Foundation.^[22] Pickett and his wife, Jennifer, host and support events for numerous charities in the Capital Region of New York.^[23]

Politics

In September, 2010, New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo named Pickett to the Upstate Business Advisory Council to advise his administration on business issues.^[24]

Pickett has been a regular political donor to Cuomo and has hosted fundraisers for Cuomo that have attracted business leaders from the greater Capital Region.^[25]

In July 2017, Pickett was named by Politico, along with 17 other donors including hedge fund managers Ronald Perelman, Steven Cohen and James Simons, as donors that have given more than $100k to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s campaign committee during his second term. ^[26]

Honors and awards

In November 2011, Pickett’s company nfrastructure was named The Business Review’s Company of the Year by the Albany Business Review.^[27]

In May 2013, Ernst & Young LLP named Pickett a finalist for its Entrepreneur of the Year award.^[28]

In May 2016, Ernst & Young LLP named Pickett a finalist for its Entrepreneur of the Year award. ^[29]

In May 2016, Pickett’s company, nfrastructure, was ranked #14th among the Best Companies to Work for in New York by NYS-SHRM, The Business Council of New York and Best Companies Group. ^[30]

In 2016, Pickett’s company nfrastructure was one of only 48 companies named a CRN Triple Crown Winner – placing on the Solution Provider 500 list of the largest solution providers in North America according to revenue; the Fast Growth 150, which ranks the fastest-growing solution providers; and the Tech Elite 250 solution providers, with the highest level of certifications from major vendors. ^[31]

References