Benjamin Defnet

Commander
DISC Type : D

Vice President of Engineering at Cedar

Portland, Oregon, United States

Overview

As Vice President of Engineering at Cedar, Benjamin Defnet leads all engineering functions, including AI/ML. His experience spans Amazons Alexa Health & Wellness and Intel. A Georgia Tech alumnus and Certified Scrum Master, he excels at building high-performing, distributed engineering teams and delivering new products from the ground up.

Benjamin is a self-described "people person" with a passion for helping individuals grow in their careers. He actively mentors and enjoys putting people in the right roles to help them succeed. His interests include The Walt Disney Company, and he is a proud two-time graduate of Georgia Tech.

He was a featured speaker at the 2025 Twilio SIGNAL conference, where he discussed the transformative impact of Large Language Models on customer engagement.

Personality Overview

Candid & Clear

Risk-Taker

Very Quick

They respond better to strong and respectful interactions.  They take a lot of pride in personal achievements. They are not always relationship oriented.

Topics They Care About

Engineering Leadership
He is passionate about forming and growing new engineering teams, structuring organizations for success, and mentoring talent.
AI in Healthcare
He leads Applied AI/ML at Cedar and previously headed engineering for Alexa Health & Wellness at Amazon, focusing on creating trusted health assistants.
LLM Technology
Spoke at the Twilio SIGNAL 2025 conference about how Large Language Models are revolutionizing customer engagement.

Media Appearances

Benjamin has no verified media appearances

Work History

11-2025
Vice President of Engineering at Cedar
10-2025 - 11-2025
Vice President of Product Engineering at Cedar
2-2023 - 9-2025
Senior Director - Product Engineering at Cedar
7-2020 - 2-2023
Head of Engineering - Alexa Health & Wellness at Amazon
8-2018 - 7-2020
Software Development Manager - Last Mile Technology - Maps & Places Operator Tools at Amazon

Education

1998 - 1999
Master's Degree from Georgia Institute of Technology
1994 - 1998
Bachelor's Degree from Georgia Institute of Technology

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : N/A Location : Portland, Oregon, United States Job Level : N/A Designation : Vice President of Engineering at Cedar
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Insights For Selling To Benjamin

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Get to the point quickly instead of spending time doing small talk
  • Use phrases like ‘it’s your decision’, ‘strategic impact’ etc.
  • Refer to testimonials from well-known industry leaders

DONT's

  • Avoid being a storyteller and don’t try to oversell
  • Don’t be in a rush to invite them for a social meet and greet
  • Do not spend too much time focusing on product tech or features

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Benjamin is

  • Conviction around the impact matters the most to them, followed by a sense of achievement and ROI.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Benjamin

  • If they are not convinced, they will say no without any hesitation.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Benjamin move?

  • They can reach decisions fairly quickly if they are convinced.
  • Can Benjamin take some risk or not?

  • They don’t mind risks but can be quite binary about them.

You And Benjamin

Personality Compatibility


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