Chris Carson

Chris Carson is a Lynn University alumnus, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and entrepreneur with a deep passion for technology and innovation. He has over 20 years of experience driving growth in technology startups, multinational companies and consultancies. Before becoming a student at Lynn, Carson served in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1990 and played a pivotal role as a special operations team member in Operation Desert Shield. His role with the Marine Corps piqued his interest in the technology of autonomous defense systems—which later became his inspiration for future endeavors.

As a student, he spearheaded the adoption of the Greek system at the university and earned a bachelor's in international business management. Carson went on to graduate school at Tokyo's Waseda University where he earned his master's and doctoral degree. He landed in the epicenter of Japanese manufacturing, Nagoya, where he worked as a director in the innovation unit of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Carson then resettled in the San Francisco Bay area and became a serial entrepreneur, building tech companies out of the proverbial garage.

Primed by the insights and skills gained through military service, academic life and career experiences, he recognized an opportunity on a bus in San Francisco: automating enforcement of illegal parking in bus lanes. This led him to cofound and become CEO of Hayden AI, the fast-growing technology company developing the first autonomous traffic management platform in the world. The company's perception systems remove humans from the traffic enforcement loop, reducing confrontation and bias, allowing algorithms to identify traffic violations, such as illegally passing school buses or parking at bus stops. By leveraging the power of AI and machine learning, Hayden AI is revolutionizing how governments and businesses solve real-world problems.

With his strong technical background in artificial intelligence, computer vision, and Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), as well as a decade of experience in leading globally distributed engineering teams and turning innovation into material business impact, Carson's leadership drives growth through innovation and strong execution.

Throughout his professional career, Carson has established himself as an expert in strategy, innovation and venture development. He has also been recognized as a thought leader for disruption and digital innovation and a relentless champion of Design Thinking and Lean Startup. Having founded and operated several technology companies, he also mentors and actively invests in up-and-coming technology companies. At Lynn, Carson serves as an entrepreneur-in-residence in the College of Business and Management.

• B.S. in international business management, Lynn University
• M.S. and Ph.D in information architecture, computer vision signal processing lab, Waseda University