Keith Vaitkus is an experienced software veteran. In his 14-year career, Keith has held positions in software development and project management across a wide range of companies and industries. Described by others as a “fixer”, Keith’s passion for process improvement and building better products has produced a track record of achievement.
Keith started his career in the consumer electronics industry doing software development for Lexmark International. He wrote firmware for two laser printers, the 4039 and OptraE, and spent a year managing a manufacturing project on self-directed work teams. In 1995, Keith moved to California to do user interface programming for the airline industry. In 1999, Keith left development to focus on technical project management at a promising dot-com startup in San Francisco. Before moving to Seattle, Keith managed the development of healthcare software for Kaiser-Permanente, the nation’s first and largest HMO.
Always a passionate advocate for the customer, Keith became increasingly interested in the bigger picture of bringing products to customers, including market research, branding, and marketing communications. In 2004, he decided to pursue these interests through a Master’s degree in business, with a focus on entrepreneurship and marketing for high tech companies.
Keith earned his MBA from the University of Washington Business School in 2006.
During his two years of business school, Keith did a number of practical projects for local businesses as well as two marketing internships. In his first year, Keith provided strategy recommendations to a local shipyard and performed a brand analysis of Xbox. As a WRF-Gates Fellow, Keith wrote the business plan to commercialize a University of Washington technology for treating cancer with gold nanocubes. Working for a new startup, Keith developed the initial marketing requirements document, market research strategy, and brand strategy.
Keith and his wife currently live in Seattle, WA, where their first child was born in 2006. When he isn’t baby-sitting or playing basketball, Keith is an active blogger and podcaster.