Chet Pipkin is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Belkin International based in Playa Vista, in the heart of Los Angeles. In his parents’ garage in the early 1980s, he founded what became Belkin International and its three distinct brands, Belkin, Linksys, and WeMo. Fast Company recently named Belkin one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in the Internet of Things (IoT). The Belkin team’s people-centric approach to IoT innovations and Belkin’s passion for delightful user experiences anchor the company’s successes. Today Belkin is a leading brand in the technology and consumer electronic sectors, and has offices in more than 20 countries around the world.

Belkin is a multiple-time Inc. 500 (fastest growing privately held companies in the United States) company, has been named a Los Angeles Technology Fast 50 Company 9 times, and has made the LA Business Journal’s list of the 100 fastest growing privately held companies 6 times in a row. The company has won many awards for design and innovation. Chet has been a three-time finalist in the Los Angeles Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, winning the Southern California Regional Award in 1996. He was inducted in the Dealerscope Magazine’s Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame in 2006. He was awarded the “Lifetime Still Achieving” award from the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce in 2013.

A husband and father of seven, Chet’s extensive nonprofit work revolves around youth, education, and closing the achievement gap. He is a founder of the DaVinci family of charter schools in Hawthorne, CA. The schools include a campus for STEM, Design, Communications, and a new model for K-8 education. He was also instrumental in planning Internet access to all California public schools as a member of the California Education Technology Task Force.