Gary Flake

Dr. Gary William Flake is an executive in computer science and innovation, with a career that bridges academia, industry, and entrepreneurship. Flake's early research delved into machine learning and neural networks, laying a robust foundation for his future endeavors in data science and artificial intelligence.

Flake's professional journey commenced at NEC Research Institute, where he spearheaded web data-mining initiatives. His expertise led him to Overture Services as chief science officer, where he played a pivotal role in advancing commercial web search technologies. Following Yahoo!'s acquisition of Overture, Flake founded Yahoo! Research Labs, steering the company's R&D and innovation strategies.

In 2005, Flake joined Microsoft as a Technical Fellow, founding Live Labs, a venture that bridged research and product development, yielding groundbreaking projects like Seadragon and Photosynth.

He established Clipboard Inc., a web clipping service acquired by Salesforce in 2013. At Salesforce, he served as chief technology officer of Search and Data Science, overseeing the company's search platform and data initiatives.

Flake wrote "The Computational Beauty of Nature," a seminal work exploring complex systems and self-organization, widely used in academic settings. His contributions have earned him over 150 patents and recognition in prominent publications like The New York Times and Forbes. Flake's doctorate in computer science was awarded through the University of Maryland.