Graduating from the University of Waterloo in Geomatics in 2004, he went on to earn his MBA from the University of Redlands, California. Kent started his career with the GIS software company ESRI, where he used systems thinking to help shape some of the world’s most well-known mapping applications. Following a successful period at ESRI, he joined Tableau, the world’s leading business intelligence platform, to make it easier for anyone with data to build a map. He has since gone on to lead the geospatial vision for Elastic, which makes the software Elasticsearch — the search engine powerhouse behind technology companies like Uber, Amazon, and Netflix.
Kent's work helped make Esri's mapping tools easier to use – making complex applications more accessible to people without deep geospatial knowledge. His impact continues to be felt, as mapping visualizations are used in the COVID-19 resource hub, a tool recognized globally as a critical resource for tracking and understanding pandemic metrics. His work has also impacted the community by helping school systems create better-redistricting maps to promote diversity, supporting NGOs fighting food scarcity in Africa and aiding climate change research and its impacts on glacial melting.
As a visionary product leader and mentor for professionals around him, Kent has volunteered his free time to civic engagements such as speaking at multiple conferences. This includes the first Locate conference organized by Mapbox and speaking at the Geospatial World Forum on how his work has supported organizations targeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
While being a widely recognized and highly regarded advocate for mapping, Kent is also a dedicated activist for social and environmental justice. He has continuously been involved in community efforts, including neighborhood clean-ups, consistent charitable donations to support plastic removal from the oceans and has supported the effort to plant 1 billion trees by 2030.