David Hayes is a Senior Director of Firmware Engineering at Western Digital, with an impressive 25-year background in global team building and leadership, SAFe/agile development, and software engineering. With over two decades of experience in leading cross-cultural teams from HDD development and consumer electronics to professional products R&D, David has built solid expertise in result-oriented management, strategic planning, and team problem-solving. He is also skilled in Agile development, DevOps, and HR policies and procedures. David holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronic Engineering from Munster Technological University. Aside from his current position at Western Digital, he has formerly held directorial and managerial roles at MiTAC Digital, Bose Corporation, and Alpine Electronics Research of America.