JUST Quarterly Call with Akamai

Chief Executive Officer, Akamai Technologies

Dr. Tom Leighton is one of the world’s preeminent authorities on algorithms for network applications. He discovered a solution to freeing up web congestion using applied mathematics and distributed computing. He then co-founded Akamai Technologies in 1998 and served as Akamai’s Chief Scientist until he became CEO in 2013. Akamai used Leighton’s technology to create the world's largest distributed computing platform, which today delivers and secures tens of millions of requests per second to billions of users around the world.

Dr. Leighton holds more than 50 U.S. patents involving content delivery, Internet protocols, algorithms for networks, cryptography, and digital rights management.

He and Akamai’s co-founder Danny Lewin were inducted into the U.S. National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2017 for having “invented the methods needed to intelligently replicate and deliver content over a large network of distributed servers, technology that would ultimately solve what was becoming a frustrating problem for Internet users known as the ‘World Wide Wait.'

He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineers, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was the first winner of the Machtey Award in 1981, and in 2012 he became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society. He received the IEEE Computer Society Charles Babbage Award in 2001. He was elected as an Association for Computing Machinery Fellow in 2018 for 'his leadership in the establishment of content delivery networks, and his contributions to algorithm design.' Also in 2018, the Marconi Society selected him to receive the Marconi Prize for 'his fundamental contributions to technology and the establishment of content delivery networks.'

Dr. Leighton has served on numerous government, industry and academic advisory panels. From 2003 to 2005, he served on the U.S. President's Information Technology Advisory Committee and chaired its Subcommittee on Cybersecurity. He graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1978 with a B.S.E. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) in 1981.

CEO, JUST Capital

Martin Whittaker is the founding CEO of JUST Capital and is responsible for the overall leadership of the organization. He is also co-founder and Board member of the CREO Syndicate, a family office investment network; a Board member of the Carbon Disclosure Project U.S.; a member of the Forbes Finance Council and Forbes Contributor; and an advisor to Mission Driven Capital Partners, a private equity firm.

Previously, Martin was a founding partner and investment committee member at Sonen Capital, an impact investing firm, where he led private equity, real asset, and direct investing activities. Martin has also served as Director of MissionPoint Capital Partners, a family office-led private equity firm; Senior Vice President at Swiss Re, where he was part of the Environmental and Commodity Markets team; and Managing Director at Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Inc., a pioneering sustainable investment advisory and research firm.