As Vice President and General Manager of Computer Vision at RealNetworks, Dan Grimm leads the company’s facial recognition platform, SAFR. Prior to joining RealNetworks, Dan served as General Manager of Kindle Enterprise Publishing at Amazon. Dan also served as Associate Partner at Monitor Deloitte, where he led numerous strategy engagements advising C-suite and cabinet-level leaders in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa on driving top-line corporate growth, national prosperity, and economic development.
How did you come to work in the security industry?
We evaluated whose work we could best support with SAFR and identified the public servants and professionals keeping us safe in important spaces. They are asked to complete a near-impossible task: maintaining vigilance over hundreds of cameras in real-time — I’m delighted we’re able to help them do their jobs more effectively.
What is the best professional advice you have received (and from whom)?
Find the place where your gifts and passions intersect with the world’s need. And then dig in and make a difference. My pastor in college told me that, and it’s stuck with me ever since.
| Quick Facts | |
| Biggest hero | Abraham Lincoln |
| Favorite film | The Last of the Mohicans |
| Favorite meal | Steamed Maryland Blue Crabs |
| First job | Warehouse Clerk |
| Dogs or cats? | Dogs |
What's something few people know about you?
Many years ago, I appeared as an extra in the film, Mona Lisa Smile, with Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Ginnifer Goodwin. It was a brief scene, but great fun. Director Mike Newell said I did well — maybe I chose the wrong field!
What's the most rewarding thing about what you do for a living?
The opportunity to usher in the future with an extraordinary team. As a pioneer in the field of computer vision and facial recognition, I believe we have a responsibility to design, develop, and distribute this technology in ways that fundamentally enhance the human experience — that’s a challenge that I relish every day.
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| Dan, along with his wife, brother, father-in-law, and some dear friends climbed Mt. Rainier to raise funds for Syrians in need |
What are your interests, hobbies and passions outside security? (And why?)
When not immersed in the latest tech, I go the other direction and spend time in the wild. A few years ago, my wife, brother, father-in-law, and some dear friends climbed Mt. Rainier to raise funds for Syrians in need. It was a wonderful and humbling experience.
Where was your last vacation? Would you recommend it to others and why?
Camping in an airstream trailer in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest with my wife, our three children, and a 3-month-old pudelpointer puppy, Lewis. I recommend it highly as a family-bonding experience.
