Darren Bonawitz attended Kansas State University where he majored in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis in Communication Systems. While at Kansas State University, he founded and led multiple organizations and societies, and in his final year, Darren was one of just six Electrical/Computer Engineering students at Kansas State University to pass the rigorous EIT/FE (required to be a licensed engineer) examination.
Darren is a results-oriented business development, management, and technology professional who is tenacious in building new business, securing customer loyalty, and forging strong relationships with business partners. With 12 years experience in technical business development and engineering, he has spent time as a Consultant, Sales Engineer, and Network Engineer for companies including Birch Telecom and Lucent Technologies. In addition, he founded and operated a computer and server systems integration company and has consulted for several companies including internet service providers and webhosting/collocation companies.
Some of his selected career achievements include:
- Writing the technical specifications for the installation of Lucent Technologies and Cisco core ATM equipment in one of the largest fiber optic rollouts in the United States.
- Coauthoring Designing a Wireless Network published by Snygress Publishing.
- Designing an 802.11b wireless (WiFi) network for a national milling company’s 300,000 square ft. warehouse, which was one of the largest WiFi deployments in the United States to that date.
- Spearheading the turn-around of two underperforming sales teams, one of which became #2 in the region.
- Leading a start up to $2.4 million in revenue by end of third fiscal year, consistently increasing profit year over year while maintaining the 3rd highest independently evaluated customer satisfaction rating for online computer companies nationwide.
- As a co-owner, provided the technical and sales/marketing leadership necessary to establish industry confidence in a large commercial real estate project that has since become Kansas City’s largest internet hub and increased the value of the property by more than $10 million in less than three years.
- Interviewed by a wide range of publications including The Kansas City Business Journal, The L.A. Times, and The New York Times.
