Darren Smith

Current

• Sabatical at A Blank Canvas

Past

• Managing Director at Technews
• Marketing Manager at Consultancy in Advanced Technology
• Sales Engineer at ICDC

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Education

• University of KwaZulu-Natal
• University of KwaZulu-Natal
• Hamilton High

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Recommended

4 people have recommended Darren

Connections

500+ connections

Industry

Executive Office

Websites

• My Blog
• Twitter:

Darren Smith’s Summary

A Masters Degree in Engineering, leading to 10 years in technical sales, and 10 years in Specialist Media (B2B) publishing in print and online.
Focused on technical publishing, marketing and communications, research, recruitment, across the board in all technical disciplines (engineering and IT).
Key areas of expertise in Security (physical and logical), ICT (in business), Manufacturing, and Electronic Engineering, with publications focused on each of these sectors.

Darren Smith’s Specialties:

Publishing, marketing, communications, research solutions, services and analysis, technical recruitment services, media integration.

Darren Smith’s Experience

• Sabatical

  A Blank Canvas

  (Executive Office industry)

  May 2009 — Present (7 months)

  Media. Green tech. Bullet the blue sky. red espresso. Marmalade. Zebu. Dark chocolate. Double Jameson on ice. Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Blue. Rock. Energy.

• Managing Director

  Technews

  (Privately Held; Publishing industry)

  September 1995 — May 2009 (13 years 9 months)

  Managing Director of Technews, a technical publishing company focused on print and online publications, research, recruitment and media strategy. Niches titles published include Hi-Tech Security Solutions (security), net.work (ICT), Dataweek (Electronic Engineering), SA Instrumentation & Control (Manufacturing, Automation & Process Control), Motion Control (robotics and fluid mechanics) amongst others.
  Passion, and a love for what we do at Technews drives me.
  Meeting with, advising, and learning from executives across the globe, tasked with the promotion and successful positioning of their business excites me.
  Keeping abreast with the fast-changing, dynamic world of technology challenges me.
  Embracing the tools of the day (the web, social networks, blogging, collaborative integration etc), and applying them in a meaningful way to business keeps me from getting my golf handicap down, or diving in the Indian ocean as often as I'd like.

• Marketing Manager

  Consultancy in Advanced Technology

  (Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing industry)

  January 2004 — September 2005 (1 year 9 months)

  Marketing Manager at CAT, I was tasked with raising the profile and credibility of digital surveillance (imaging) systems which CAT had pioneered in South Africa. A little ahead of its time (at the time, the mid- to late-1990s), digital surveillance has since become THE growth area of the CCTV industry world-wide.
  I enjoyed my brief time at CAT, but in real terms the sales team failed to deliver on the mandate of the Directors. Even though sales were at an all-time high, they simply weren't high enough, and I was retrenched, in spite of not being tasked with sales.
  It was my first exposure to classic business confusion between marketing & sales.
  My tenure at CAT formed the basis for opportunity, in as much as the struggle to sell an innovative, new technology, into an immature market, opened my eyes to the need for education in the sector.
  The result? I used my retrenchment package to start Hi-Tech Security Solutions, chose my partners smartly (Technews), and the rest is history.

• Sales Engineer

  ICDC

  (Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing industry)

  January 1990 — December 1993 (4 years )

  A Sales Engineer in support of the Integrated Circuit Design Centre's IC design services, as well as its Xilinx FPGA and PLD products.
  After having spent 7 years at University (5 studying Electronic Engineering, and 2 completing a Master's degree), I opted not to pursue a career as an engineer, feeling that I would be a good engineer, but perhaps not a great one!
  For 6 months, I thought I'd made a significant error of judgement, but as soon as I started to work in the emerging world of FPGAs, success came quickly.
  Being able to speak the language of engineers helped, and in no time at all, we'd built a fast-growing distribution and consulting division, built on the rapid emergence of progammable technology.
  After years of thinking that it was engineering which made the world go around, I rapidly came to understand that it wasn't.
  It was sales!
  In 1994 I received Xilinx's Rest of World Salesman of the Year.

Darren Smith’s Education

• University of KwaZulu-Natal

  MSc Elec Eng. , Vaccum Wave Tube Engineering , 1982 — 1989

  My 2-year masters degree was interrupted by a 6-8 month period, during which I worked at a research institute in Munich (Germany) ... actually an excuse to travel the world prior to starting work proper!
  I spent 6 months working in Munich (1988-89), got to see the Berlin Wall before it came tumbling down, and enjoyed Oktoberfest with a lot of newly found friends from across the world.
  Criss-crossing Europe, and finishing off with an idyllic few weeks in Mauritius, I have to wonder whether my travels weren't a better education than my education!

  Activities and Societies:

  Graduated BSc Elec Eng 1987, Best Design Award
  Graduated MSc Elec Eng 1989

• University of KwaZulu-Natal

  1981 — 1985

• Hamilton High

Additional Information

Darren Smith’s Websites:

• My Blog
• Twitter:

Darren Smith’s Interests:

Business Strategy, Online Strategy, marketing and communications and media integration. Golf, health, travel. My business interests speak for themselves, but I would say my real passion in life is technology (work), travel (work and play), sport (play) and the outdoors. I have climbed Kilimanjaro, hiked the Whale Trail, seen the Big 5, kayaked off the Cape Point. I have traveled in Europe, the US, Africa ... with many more places still to see, and many more people still to meet. And yea, I like golf. I like the fact that whatever 'pain' you find yourself in, you cannot complain, because it was self-inflicted! I like watching people on the golf course ... their response to adversity, to success, to failure. Its a lot like life, isn't it?

Darren Smith’s Groups:

•    Renewable Energy Business Network/Clean Economy Network Foundation
•    Inbound Marketers - For Marketing Professionals
•    The Official IEEE Group
•    Energy Priorities "Thought Leaders"
•    Leadership Think Tank
•    ThoseinMedia
•    Salesforce.com Professional Network
•    Global Private Equity & Venture Capital
•    Association of Technology Analysts & Influencers
•    Social Media Software Group
•    Linked:Energy (Energy industry expertise)
•    Energy & Utilities Network
•    Smartphone Professionals (4000+)
•    APQC
•    South African Institute of Electrical Engineers
•    The Virtual Energy Forum
•    Tech PR
•    StartUp Africa
•    Tools of Change for Publishing
•    BlackBerry Cool
•    FOLIO: MediaPRO -- Magazine & eMedia Publishing Professionals
•    BACnet
•    Gridwise & Smartgrids
•    Greentech Media
•    Global Keynote Speakers Association
•    Smart Grids
•    Electric Power Industry Associates
•    The Corporate Blogging Think Tank
•    The Institution of Engineering and Technology - IET
•    GSMA Mobile World Congress (The Official Networking Group)
•    AlterSage Online Media
•    Social Media Academy
•    Networking Nation—ONLINE NETWORKING for Execs. in Marketing/New Media/Promotions/Publishing/PR
•    Engineer Network Group
•    BlackBerry Rocks!

Darren Smith’s Honors:

Top Design Award, University of Natal, Final Year Project 1987.
Top Salesman of the Year, Xilinx (RoW) 1994.
MPASA PICA Award winning publisher, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002.
Johnnie Walker Striding Man finalist 2007.

Darren Smith’s Contact Settings

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