Dana DeMet

Business Manager/Administrator

Dana comes to Palantir from Teach for America, where he spent two years teaching 8th-grade Math and English in a North Carolina middle school. As a Teach for America alumnus, he helped train new Corps members and prepare them for the experience of teaching public school students in underprivileged communities. Dana is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he majored in Journalism and Mass Communication. At Palantir, he helps provide in-house logistics, administration and business development.

What do you do outside of Palantir?

You will often be able to find me out and about, exploring Chicago and trying to find unique places to eat, drink, or people-watch. Outside of work, I love staying active by running and riding my bike. In the winter months, you likely be able to find me roaming the parking lot of the Frozen Tundra, doing my best to snag some tickets to watch my beloved Green Bay Packers march to victory on any given Sunday.

If you had your own time machine, when would you take it?

I'd most definitely head back to the turn of the 20th Century and try my hand at surviving the Wild Wild West — as long as Will Smith agreed to stay out of it.

Star Trek or Star Wars?

Given the role that Star Wars played in my adolescence, I can't deny my strong preference for light sabers and Jedis over phasers and jumpsuits. However, other Palantiri (*cough*larry*cough*) don't always let me off that easily.

If I wasn’t an awesome business manager, I would be…

Working in Education — most likely down in Durham or Asheville, NC.

What are your top three video games ever?

I come from a household where the original Atari system was cutting edge in 1998. Therefore, “Adventure”, “Frogger”, and “Crossbow” are tops on my list.

Google+, Facebook, MySpace, or Friendster?

I'm of the Facebook Generation, although it plays significantly less of a role in my social life a few years out of college. I find social networks to be less of a necessity now and more of a distraction.

iOS or Android?

Droid Bionic

What’s “the Next Big Thing” going to be?

Touch-screen neckties.