Darren Haken

Commander
DISC Type : D

Director of Engineering - Data & AI Products, Platform at Booking.com

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Overview

Darren is a global engineering executive leading the Data & AI organization at Booking. com. He focuses on building the "Intelligence Layer" that powers the customer experience through experimentation, GenAI, and machine learning. His colleagues have described him as intelligent, motivated, and a superb software engineer.

Originally from Manchester, he now lives in Amsterdam and is a proud husband who publicly supports his wifes career as a backend engineer. In a past life, he was a DJ in Manchester, is a huge fan of Japan having visited five times, and enjoys photography while backpacking through Europe.

He once vowed he would never work in data early in his career after a bad experience with GUI-based ETL tools.

Personality Overview

Decisive

Strong-Willed

Risk-Taker

They prefer to move quickly, and expect the same from others.  They like to stay in control of the negotiation or defining of the terms. They put a lot of effort into ensuring personal success.

Topics They Care About

AI in Travel
He is driving the shift toward AI-native travel experiences, highlighting Booking. com's integration with ChatGPT as a foundational step for the company's growth in this area.
Data-Driven Products
Leads the engineering for Booking. com's Experimentation Platform, which uses data and ML to validate product decisions and drive personalization and commercial growth.
Global Team Leadership
Manages a distributed engineering organization of approximately 150 people across Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, and Bangalore, focusing on unifying strategy and execution.

Media Appearances

Darren has no verified media appearances

Work History

10-2024
Director of Engineering - Data & AI Products, Platform at Booking.com
9-2024
Advisor (Product, Tech and Strategy) at Snowplow
3-2017 - 10-2024
Director of Engineering at Autotrader
2-2017 - 10-2018
Director at Shinko
2-2017 - 4-2017
Engineering Manager, Software Architect at Equal Experts

Education

2006 - 2010
BSc (Hons) Computing from The Manchester Metropolitan University

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 8 Location : Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Director of Engineering - Data & AI Products, Platform at Booking.com
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Insights For Selling To Darren

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Help them weigh the risks by sharing objective proof points without becoming too analytical
  • Refer to testimonials from well-known industry leaders
  • Hold your ground without indulging in one-upmanship

DONT's

  • Do not back off when challenged, respond with a confident, objective answer instead
  • Don’t focus on process and rules, give the impression of being a ‘gets it done’ person
  • Don't try too hard to forge relationships with them

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Darren 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 Darren

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

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Darren move?

  • If convinced, they can reach decisions quite fast.
  • Can Darren take some risk or not?

  • They do not shy away from taking risks, but can be quite binary about them.

You And Darren

Personality Compatibility


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