Dr. Nick McKeown PhD is a British-American computer scientist, Stanford Computer Science and EE professor emeritus, and a pioneering serial entrepreneur in the field of computer networking. He is widely recognized for his foundational contributions to software-defined networking (SDN), programmable network devices, and high-performance switching architectures. As a prolific inventor and founder, McKeown has co-founded several influential networking startups, including Abrizio (acquired by PMC-Sierra in 1999), Nemo (“network memory” technology), and Nicira Networks, which redefined SDN and was acquired by VMware for $1.26 billion in 2012. He also co-founded Barefoot Networks in 2013 to bring programmable switching chips to market, later acquired by Intel in 2019.

McKeown is a professor emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford University, where he co-leads the Platform Lab and has advised numerous students who have gone on to become leaders in industry and academia. His entrepreneurial ventures are deeply rooted in his academic work, often translating fundamental research into transformative technologies that shift industry paradigms and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors. In 2025, he received the Marconi Award.

He has served as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the IEEE, and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. His influence bridges academia, industry, and startup innovation, helping to commercialize groundbreaking research in programmable networks and network virtualization into widely adopted technologies across the technology sector.