Kristopher Tyra has had an extensive 30+ year professional career in executive management and technology development ranging from startups to multi-billion dollar global companies including IBM, Microsoft, Deutsche Bank, Citrix, and now Progress ShareFile.

He is currently the Vice President for Research & Development for Progress ShareFile, providing technical leadership for platform developments that enable client and team collaboration through secure and efficient document sharing.

An entrepreneur at heart, Kristopher founded and served as CTO at two start-up firms: WidgetWorkshop and HiddenMind Technology, a company far ahead of its time, providing software solutions for wireless technologies. While at HiddenMind, he raised over $32M in funding and eventually merged with publicly traded Infowave, Inc.

After the merger, Kristopher continued his career at Microsoft where he formed Microsoft Hosted Solutions Development, where he administered a multi-million dollar development budget and directed a team that went on to build Microsoft Office 365.

Tyra holds 2 patents, one related to systems and methods for transmitting data content in a computer network, and another from his IBM days related to object based systems for software maintenance.

During his tenure at Deutsche Bank, Kristopher worked to develop a unique culture and work environment for tech employees, more like that in Silicon Valley than a traditional bank. He also led two globally recognized award winning applications for excellence including “Profit & Loss Digital FX Awards ‘Eye on the Client: Best Platform’” and,“The Asset Triple A Transaction Banking Treasury, Trade and Risk Management Award: Editors’ Triple Star”.

Tyra graduated from N.C. State in 1986, and has continued to stay engaged, serving on the computer science Strategic Advisory Board as well as Arts NC STATE Board of Advisors.In addition to donating his time, Kristopher also provides ideas that feed the CSC curriculum and impact the NCSU students and community. Several years ago, Kristopher worked to connect the Computer Science ambassadors with the NC State Theater department piloting a program that enhanced the communication skills of Computer Science students through training in improv.

Throughout his impressive career, Kristopher has continued to support the roots that made him a success by remaining a strong presence at NCSU. Kristopher has sponsored student projects via the Computer Science ePartner Program, written numerous articles and served as a guest speaker for multiple engagements including the Department of Computer Science diploma ceremony.