Ben Lai

As a software engineer at LinkedIn, I've served in various technical roles. I have mentored many junior engineers on LinkedIn tools and technologies, including engineers in my own team and engineers in the "Startin" program for new graduates. My mentorship and coaching skills have earned me an award for Outstanding Contribution to the Startin Program. Since LinkedIn encourages career transformation, I have spent a fair bit of time on pursuits other than software engineering. I am the host for the LinkedIn Weekly Tech Talks, where employees from Engineering, Operations, and occasionally Business Operations or Business Analytics present technical topics to anyone in LinkedIn who wishes to attend. In the most successful Tech Talk I ever hosted, a guest speaker named Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic (author of "Storytelling with Data") drew an estimated 230 people altogether. In my role as the host of Tech Talks, I also give feedback to anyone who wishes to practice presenting to me first, and every presenter has appreciated my feedback. I'm also a blogger and an author. My first book, "Never Were", is a story that shows how ordinary people can reform democracy, rehumanize capitalism, and stop climate change.