Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based VP’ operating in the Robotics space. If you think a VP’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Brandon Deer
VP, Operations & Strategy of UiPath
Brandon Deer currently works as Vice President of Operations and Strategy at UiPath.
Follow Brandon Deer:
About Cogit Corp., Expensify, JumpCloud, Logz.io, Pipefy, Scalr, UiPath, VTS: UiPath is a software company developing robotic process automation and artificial intelligence software.
Vineet Joshi
VP of Engineering of UiPath
Follow Vineet Joshi:
About UiPath: UiPath is a software company developing robotic process automation and artificial intelligence software.
Brandon Nott
Vice President of Customer Success of UiPath
Brandon Nott leads the Americas Customer Success Team at UiPath. As a former customer, Brandon has built a successful RPA practice and brings firsthand knowledge of all aspects of the RPA life cycle to our Americas customers. Brandon is an award-winning technologist with a deep focus on sustainable, robust systems design. From automating mortgage operations to testing wireless technologies, Brandon takes a holistic approach to digital transformation that brings humans and technology together, seamlessly. Following a double major in Business and Accounting and a Master’s degree Business Information Systems, Brandon began his career writing communication and scheduling software which led to his architecting many of the core systems for the Bluetooth SIG. He then went on to start a Business Intelligence practice at VML, advising Fortune 100 companies on BI strategy. After his time at VML, Brandon ran operations for J.G. Wentworth Home Lending, automating the processing of home loans. Brandon’s passion for technology and holistic approach to automation makes him an invaluable partner to his customers, and a thought leader in the industry.
Follow Brandon Nott:
About UiPath, UiPath: UiPath is a software company developing robotic process automation and artificial intelligence software.
John Prausa
Chief Operating Officer and Vice President, Mission Solutions of SRI International
John Prausa became chief operating officer (COO) of SRI International in 2015, responsible for all activities in support of research and development operations including Contracting and Procurement; Human Resources; Security Operations; and Facilities, Property and Logistics. Prausa is also Vice President of Mission Solutions, which delivers technology and services in support U.S. government deployed systems. The division comprises two programs: Instrumentation and Simulation (I&S) and Intelligence and Information Systems (I2S). The I&S Program provides a full spectrum of support to clients in the military test and training and homeland defense communities, including technology R&D, system prototyping, instrumentation production, training exercise field support, and depot maintenance. I2S supports Army, Joint, and Coalition Operations software for electronic warfare (EW) and target sensing systems (TSS), including infrastructure and personnel for ground and air survivability systems. The program also enhances multi-spectral EW system capabilities through automated development, testing and distribution software tools. Prausa previously led SRI’s Engineering and Systems Group, at the time the largest R&D group at SRI, with staff distributed at fifteen regional offices and numerous operating locations. In that role, he directed 800 staff members conducting R&D, deployment and support of technologies and systems in ionospheric and space research, radar and remote sensing, signal processing and algorithm development, signals and electronic intelligence, test and training systems, wireless communications, robotics and autonomous systems, imaging technology and systems, force protection and situation awareness, and product development. Prausa has a B.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley, and has done graduate course work in systems analysis at Stanford University.
Follow John Prausa:
About SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
William Mark
President, Information and Computing Sciences; Vice President, SRI International of SRI International
William Mark leads SRI International’s Information and Computing Sciences Division, which creates new technology in information security, system design, speech and natural language, vision and perception, planning and reasoning, and formal methods. The group’s leading-edge research is complemented with a strong focus on intellectual property creation and commercialization. Projects include Internet interaction, intrusion detection software, physical and virtual information spaces, and technology for dynamic enterprise management. Prior to joining SRI in 1998, Mark headed the System Technology Group at National Semiconductor. The group focused on system-level design and implementation of the silicon-based systems of the future, including hardware/software co-design, integrated DSP solutions, and reconfigurable computing technology. Mark was formerly director of Information and Computing Sciences for the Lockheed Martin Palo Alto Research Laboratories. Before joining Lockheed, he was a co-founder of Savoir, a company developing software tools for flexible manufacturing. He was a designer of the Flexis product, for which he holds a software patent. Previously, he held positions at the University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute and the General Motors Research Laboratories. Mark has a Ph.D. in computer science from MIT. His personal research interests include system design and smart spaces.
Follow William Mark:
About SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
Luther Lau
Vice President, Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer of SRI International
Follow Luther Lau:
About SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
Michael Page
Vice President, Information Technology Services and Chief Information Officer of SRI International
Follow Michael Page:
About SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
Allen Gruber
Co-Founder, Executive Vice President, Board Member of Brain Corp
Allen Gruber is a neuroscientist, physician, and founder of several successful technology companies. In 1993, Gruber co-founded INTERVU, Inc, a streaming video provider, which went public and was sold to Akamai Technologies, Inc.(NASDAQ: AKAM) for $2.8 billion. He founded Kintera, Inc., in 1999, and later served as Executive Vice President in charge of Engineering for Kintera, Inc., an online fundraising and marketing platform for nonprofit organizations. Kintera reached a market capitalization of $500 million and was sold to Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLKB). Gruber graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Biochemistry and also with an MD. He attended Washington University for clinical and research training and was on the faculty of the University of Texas. Gruber was a Senior Fellow in the Institute of Neural Computation at UCSD in 2007. His professional memberships include the American Academy of Neurology, the Society for Neuroscience, and IEEE.
Follow Allen Gruber:
About Brain Corp, Intheon: Brain Corp develops core technology for the robotics industry.
Brian Hughes
VP of Sales of Brain Corp
Follow Brian Hughes:
About Brain Corp: Brain Corp develops core technology for the robotics industry.
Pasha Saleh
VP of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships of AirMap
Follow Pasha Saleh:
About AirMap: AirMap operates as an airspace services platform for unmanned aircraft.
Justin McAllister
VP of Research and Development of AgEagle Aerial Systems
Justin McAllister is a VP of Research and Development at AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc.
Follow Justin McAllister:
About AgEagle Aerial Systems: AgEagle is a technologically advanced aerial imagery-based data collection and analytics solutions.
Karen Folwell
VP of Human Experience of Local Motors
Karen Folwell is the Vice President of Human Experience at Local Motors.
Follow Karen Folwell:
About Local Motors: Local Motors is an American motor vehicle company that creates and delivers safe and accessible mobility solutions for local communities.
Kevin Blankespoor
Vice President of Controls & Autonomy of Boston Dynamics
He is the Vice President of Product Engineering at Boston Dynamics.
Follow Kevin Blankespoor:
About Boston Dynamics: Boston Dynamics is an engineering company that specializes in building dynamic robots and software for human simulation.
Chang Huang
Co-Founder & VP of Algorithm of Horizon Robotics
Chang Huang was Principle Scientist and Architect (T10) at Baidu, one of core leaders in founding IDL. He is one of the top researcher in computer vision, machine learning, pattern recognition and information globally. As a renowned deep learning expert in both industry and academia, he has over 4400 citations and owns 6 US patents. The face recognition system he developed was adopted by a wide range of digital cameras (80 percent of the market) and image management applications including Apple’s iPhoto. At Baidu, he led the image technology team at IDL launched multiple important products including a full-web face search engine, similar image search, text recognition in natural scenes, mobile image search, image smart match, etc. Prior to Baidu, Dr. Huang served as a researcher at the University of Southern California and NEC Labs America. He received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. Degree from the Department of Computer Science and Technology at Tsinghua University, where he received many awards including MSRA Fellowship of 2006, Tsinghua’s Excellent PhD Thesis Award of 2007, Beijing’s Excellent PhD Thesis Award of 2007, etc. Dr. He also won the 2012 1st Excellent Research Achievement Award with his project “Theory and Methods of Geometrical Computation in Visual Media” and participated in China’s 973 Plan project “3D-Space Oriented Theory and Methods of Information Processing of Internet Information in Chinese.
Follow Chang Huang:
About Horizon Robotics: Horizon Robotics focuses on artificial intelligence computing for smart mobility.
Ming Yang
Co-Founder & VP, Software of Horizon Robotics
Ming Yang is one of the founding members of the Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) and a former senior researcher at NEC Labs America. Dr. Yang is a well-recognized researcher in computer vision and machine learning. His research interests include object tracking, face recognition, massive image retrieval and multimedia content analysis. Dr. Yang owns 14 US patents, and has over 20 publications in top conferences like CVPR and ICCV and 8 publications in the top international journal T-PAMI with more than 5300 citations. During his tenure at Facebook, Dr. Yang led the deep learning research project “Deep Face”, which had a significant impact in the deep learning research community and got widely reported by various media including Science Magazine, MIT Tech Review and Forbes. Dr. Yang has served as a member of the program committee for multiple top international conferences including CVPR, ICCV, NIPS and ACMMM. He has also been a reviewer for several top international journals including T-PAMI, IJCV and T-IP. As the leader of the NEC-UIUC team, Dr. Yang and his team achieved the best result in the TRECVid 2008 and 2009 Event Detection Evaluation. He was also a member of the NEC team to win the 1st place in the ImageNet 2010 Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge. Moreover, Dr. Yang is the owner of 14 US patents. Dr. Ming Yang received his B.Eng. and M.Eng. Degree from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University and Ph.D. degree from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Northwestern University.
Follow Ming Yang:
About Horizon Robotics: Horizon Robotics focuses on artificial intelligence computing for smart mobility.
Annie Tao
Co-Founder & VP, Operations of Horizon Robotics
Annie Tao has extensive experiences in top-notch technology and internet companies globally, with in-depth strategic thinking and analytic capabilities of the industry in both US and China. Prior to Horizon Robotics, she worked in Google Sales group at Silicon Valley and Baidu in both US lab and China. She led a number of global projects at Google, including product search operations optimization and key payment product operations at launches. TAO received Master’s Degree in Marketing from Northwestern University，Chicago, and was exchanged to Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania during undergraduate.
Follow Annie Tao:
About Horizon Robotics: Horizon Robotics focuses on artificial intelligence computing for smart mobility.
Ben Chostner
Vice President of Blue River Technology
Follow Ben Chostner:
About Blue River Technology: Blue River Technology employs computer vision and robotics technologies to build intelligent solutions for the agricultural industries.
Scott Kimmel
VP Finance and Administration of Blue River Technology
Scott joined Blue River in 2016 and leads the Finance and Administrative functions for the company.
Follow Scott Kimmel:
About Blue River Technology: Blue River Technology employs computer vision and robotics technologies to build intelligent solutions for the agricultural industries.
Mac Keely
Vice President Field Operations of Blue River Technology
Follow Mac Keely:
About Blue River Technology: Blue River Technology employs computer vision and robotics technologies to build intelligent solutions for the agricultural industries.
Michael Perry
Vice President of Marketing of Dexterity
Michael Perry currently works as Vice President of Marketing at Dexterity. He was the vice president of business development at Boston Dynamics.
Follow Michael Perry:
About Dexterity: Dexterity provides robotic systems solutions for logistics, warehouses, and supply chain.
Jason Barton
VP, Partnerships & Global Channels of Dexterity
Jason’s experience centers on selling innovative technology solutions to both commercial and consumer markets. He recently served as COO at EnergyHub, a maker of home energy management products.He joined EnergyHub from Segway, where he was Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing. Jason joined Segway from Palm, where he held progressive sales positions, ultimately leading sales for Palm’s U.S. enterprise business.Previously Jason led UK sales and marketing for Precor Inc., a manufacturer of premium fitness equipment. Jason earned a BA Honors Degree from the University of Wales.
Follow Jason Barton:
About Dexterity, Realtime Robotics: Dexterity provides robotic systems solutions for logistics, warehouses, and supply chain.
Jonathan Briggs
Vice President of Sales, 3PL and Parcel Verticals of Dexterity
Jonathan Briggs currently works as Vice President of Sales, 3PL, and Parcel Verticals at Dexterity.
Follow Jonathan Briggs:
About Dexterity: Dexterity provides robotic systems solutions for logistics, warehouses, and supply chain.
Pierre Bi
VP Air Quality of iRobot
Follow Pierre Bi:
About iRobot: iRobot is an American technology company that designs and builds behavior-based AI robots.
Alison Dean
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Principal Accounting Officer of iRobot
Follow Alison Dean:
About iRobot: iRobot is an American technology company that designs and builds behavior-based AI robots.
Tim Saeger
Executive Vice President, Engineering of iRobot
Tim Saeger has served as executive vice president of engineering since March 2017. Mr. Saeger previously served as senior vice president of engineering from August 2015 until March 2017. Prior to iRobot, Mr. Saeger served in multiple roles at Bose Corporation from 2005 – 2015, including Vice President of Home Entertainment, and Vice President of Product Development. Earlier in his career, Mr. Saeger also served at Thomson, Inc., and General Dynamics, in a variety of engineering and engineering management positions. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University, and an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Mr. Saeger also has been awarded 24 U.S. patents.
Follow Tim Saeger:
About iRobot, iRobot: iRobot is an American technology company that designs and builds behavior-based AI robots.
Russell J. Campanello
Senior Vice President of Human Resources of iRobot
Follow Russell J. Campanello:
About iRobot: iRobot is an American technology company that designs and builds behavior-based AI robots.
Gurmeet Lamba
VP Engineering of Fetch Robotics
VP Engineering at Fetch Robotics – Autonomous Mobile Robotics. Previously COO & GM at Sentient Technologies – Artificial Intelligence (sold to Cognizant, Evolv). Also VP of Engineering at Sentient, executive engineering/product roles at Riverbed, Opnet (sold to Riverbed), Clarus Systems (sold to Opnet), head of engineering for Avaya’s Unified Communications BU, Bell Labs. Recipient of the Bell Labs President’s award). Attended IIT-Delhi (B.Tech, EE/Robotics), University of Florida (MS, EE/Robotics) and Stanford University (Executive Mgmt Program). Gurmeet is also an avid ceramics artist, and serves on the board of the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation.
Follow Gurmeet Lamba:
About Fetch Robotics, Sentient Technologies: Fetch Robotics provides the market’s only cloud-driven Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) solution for warehousing intralogistics environments.
David Fortes
Vice President of Operations of Fetch Robotics
David Fortes is the vice president of operations at Fetch Robotics.
Follow David Fortes:
About Fetch Robotics: Fetch Robotics provides the market’s only cloud-driven Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) solution for warehousing intralogistics environments.
Matt Verminski
Vice President of Engineering of Desktop Metal
Matt Verminski is Vice President of Engineering at Desktop Metal where he leads the company’s growing engineering team, comprised of more than 80 engineers. Together they are responsible for the development of the Desktop Metal’s metal 3D printing systems, DM Studio and DM Production. Prior to joining the company in 2015, Verminski was an initial team member and VP of Hardware at Kiva Systems (acquired by Amazon for $775M and is now Amazon Robotics). There he shepherded multiple generations of autonomous robotic systems from concept to volume production. Previously, he co-founded and led systems engineering for Mimio and was an early team member at PowerAdvocate. Verminski earned his MS in Electrical Engineering from MIT and BS in Computer Engineering from Tufts. He currently holds 24 U.S. patents primarily in the areas of robotics and virtual transcription, with more pending.
Follow Matt Verminski:
About Desktop Metal: Desktop Metal is a provider of metal and carbon fiber 3D printing accessible to all engineers, designers, and manufacturers.
Animesh Bose
VP of Research & Development of Desktop Metal
Animesh Bose is the Vice President of Research & Development at Desktop Metal where he is responsible for building out the company’s palette of materials that can be used to print quality parts. Animesh Bose has been involved in the area of powder metallurgy and particulate materials (PM) for more than thirty years. His areas of expertise include the powder processing of advanced PM materials including refractory metals (especially tungsten-based) and their alloys, ferrous-based PM materials, hard materials, tungsten heavy alloys, intermetallic compounds, ceramics and metal matrix composites, and hot consolidation of high strength and high hardness materials. Animesh Bose earned his B. Tech in Metallurgical Engineering and his Ph.D. in Engineering (Powder Metallurgy), both from the Indian Institute of Technology. He is an author on more than 120 technical publications. He is the sole author on the book, “Advances in Particulate Materials,” and co-authored “Powder Injection Molding of Metals and Ceramics” and “Hot Consolidation of Powders and Particulates.” Animesh Bose holds nine U.S. patents.
Follow Animesh Bose:
About Desktop Metal: Desktop Metal is a provider of metal and carbon fiber 3D printing accessible to all engineers, designers, and manufacturers.
Rick Chin
Co-Founder and VP, Software Development of Desktop Metal
Rick Chin is a co-founder and Vice President of Software Development at Desktop Metal, where he is responsible for the development of a robust, effortless software platform for Desktop Metal’s 3D printing systems. Chin is a veteran of CAD software beginning his career at Unigraphics and Parametric Technologies Corporation. He was the 10th employee at Solidworks and was responsible for the eDrawings product which has several million users. Immediately prior to co-founding Desktop Metal in 2015, Chin served as Director of Product Innovation at DS SolidWorks, where he led the team focused on the development and implementation of an Augmented Reality (AR) app for product design. Additionally, he helped launch the SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress product, enabling engineers to improve the environmental impact of their designs. Chin was also the founder of Xpress3D, a pioneering marketplace for 3D printing services acquired by Stratasys which served as the foundation for Redeye Parts/Stratasys Direct. Chin earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He currently holds five U.S. patents for CAD modeling and related features.
Follow Rick Chin:
About Desktop Metal: Desktop Metal is a provider of metal and carbon fiber 3D printing accessible to all engineers, designers, and manufacturers.
Chris Wirth
Vice President, Marketing of AMP Robotics
Chris Wirth is the vice president of marketing at AMP Robotics.
Follow Chris Wirth:
About AMP Robotics: AMP Robotics is a pioneer in AI, robotics, and infrastructure for the waste and recycling industry.
Al Dekin
SVP Sales & marketing of Locus Robotics
Al Dekin Senior Vice President, Sales Al has been in the warehouse and robotics business for a long time and he has some big names on his resume. He’s spent a lot of time walking warehouses and building long-lasting fulfillment partnerships with a wide range of companies and brands. Al’s real-world experience for what’s not working and a vision for how to change that.
Follow Al Dekin:
About Locus Robotics: Locus Robotics is a warehouse robotics company that manufactures autonomous mobile robots to support e-commerce.
Laurence Wattrus
Co-Founder & SVP Hardware of Hammerhead
Laurence is a passionate mountain biker and engineer. He studied electromechanical engineering at the University of Cape Town while cycling and paddling competitively. He went on to complete his master’s degree at Brown University in 2013. Laurence is an expert navigator and seeker of innovation. From age twelve his room was covered in disassembled gadgets and bike parts. He spends time behind the camera and maintains a deep respect for nature.
Follow Laurence Wattrus:
About Hammerhead: Hammerhead is building the world’s best bicycle computer.
Jon Morgan
SVP Operations of Hammerhead
Jon Morgan is the SVP Operations at Hammerhead.
Follow Jon Morgan:
About Hammerhead: Hammerhead is building the world’s best bicycle computer.
John Barnhill
Vice President of Global Marketing & Business Development of OmniGuide
John M. Barnhill joined OmniGuide Holdings, Inc. in October 2016 as Vice President of Global Marketing & Business Development. Prior to joining OmniGuide, Mr. Barnhill held a similar position with RF Surgical, Inc., an early-stage medical technology company that was recently acquired by Medtronic. Prior to that, Barnhill was with Edwards Lifesciences where in over 10 years he held several positions of increasing responsibility including Product Management, New Product Development, Clinical Marketing, Corporate Strategy and Business Development. Mr. Barnhill also held a marketing leadership position with SenoRx, where he grew the company’s breast cancer therapy portfolio, contributing to the successful exit of the company. Mr. Barnhill holds a B.A. in Business Finance from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and an MBA from the University of California Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business.
Follow John Barnhill:
About OmniGuide: OmniGuide is a medical device company developing and commercializing minimally-invasive surgical tools.
Ajay A. Bhave
Vice President of Operations of OmniGuide
Ajay A. Bhave joined OmniGuide Surgical, Inc., in August 2016 as the Vice President of Operations. Mr. Bhave has over 32 years’ experience as an Engineering, Technology and Operations leader mostly in the medical device industry. During his career, Mr. Bhave has been instrumental in releasing over 30 new medical products in the global market, achieved $30M+ savings via value engineering & supplier driven productivity and has been involved with 8 successful acquisitions. Mr. Bhave most recently served as the Corporate Vice President of Global Engineering and a Company Officer at Natus Medical Inc., wherein he was responsible for all aspects of new product development from concept to commercial release to end of life. From 1990 to 2011, Mr. Bhave held various positions of responsibilities, starting as an acoustic design engineer with subsequent senior management positions in engineering & technology, supply chain management and plant operations, both at the local as well as global level at General Electric Healthcare. Mr. Bhave holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lowell, Massachusetts.
Follow Ajay A. Bhave:
About OmniGuide: OmniGuide is a medical device company developing and commercializing minimally-invasive surgical tools.
Milind Karnik
Executive Vice President of Elementary Robotics
Follow Milind Karnik:
About Elementary Robotics: Elementary Robotics is a robotics startup that built a platform for applying machine learning to the logistics industries.
Joseph Tou
Vice President / US Investment Manager of Sony Innovation Fund
Joseph Tou is Vice President / US Investment Manager at Sony Innovation Fund.
Follow Joseph Tou:
About Sony Innovation Fund: Sony Innovation fund is the corporate venture capital arm of Sony that invests and engages in early-stage companies.
Eric Hauser
Vice President of Engineering of DroneDeploy
Eric Hauser is the VP of engineering at DroneDeploy.
Follow Eric Hauser:
About DroneDeploy: DroneDeploy is a cloud-based drone mapping and analytics platform to help businesses get things done.
Ross Taylor
VP Software Engineering, Chief Architect of Quanergy Systems
As VP of Software Engineering and Chief Architectchief, Ross Taylor drives technology and architecture decisions across Quanergy’s business units to ensure that product development and execution is consistent with Quanergy’s overall strategy. Taylor has been developing LiDAR and robotics systems and software for more than 15 years. Prior to joining Quanergy, he worked primarily on NASA and DoD LiDAR programs including 3D inspection of the Space Shuttle, planetary rover navigation, and roadside change detection. In addition, he worked on robotics control problems including NASA’s Robonaut. Taylor has extensive project management experience and has played a key role in the development of Quanergy’s technical direction. Taylor received his Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas and his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Louisiana Tech University.
Follow Ross Taylor:
About Quanergy Systems: Quanergy is a developer of solid state sensors used to offer smart sensing services for self-driving cars.
Raj Bhullar
Vice President of Manufacturing, Quality & Reliability of Quanergy Systems
Raj Bhullar serves as vice president of manufacturing. Bhullar has responsibility for global manufacturing and operations activities, along with overseeing the company’s supply chain efficiencies and logistics strategies. In addition to establishing the supplier management and distribution operations for the company’s LiDAR sensors, he also manages IT. Most recently, Bhullar was the vice president of manufacturing for Ultimate Solutions Corporation where he was responsible for the management of the entire manufacturing process and engineering teams, along with the design and development of new products. He also served as director of manufacturing and operations at Vitesse Semiconductor where he organized the manufacturing process, equipment and labor to meet a 300% growth in sales. Bhullar holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics Technology from GND University.
Follow Raj Bhullar:
About Quanergy Systems: Quanergy is a developer of solid state sensors used to offer smart sensing services for self-driving cars.
Colin South
Vice President of Zymergen
Follow Colin South:
About Zymergen: Zymergen is a biotechnology company that specializes in machine learning, big data, and artificial intelligence.
Oren Schauble
VP of Marketing of Hangar Technology
Follow Oren Schauble:
About Hangar Technology, Unrivaled Brands: Hangar is a software technology company enabling robotics across industry.
Rey Madolora
VP of Finance and Business Intelligence of Hangar Technology
Follow Rey Madolora:
About Hangar Technology: Hangar is a software technology company enabling robotics across industry.
Andreas Wendel
VP of Engineering of Kodiak Robotics
Andreas Wendel is the VP of Engineering at Kodiak Robotics, where he has built a team of world-class technologists to make autonomous long-haul trucking a reality. Previously, Andreas was part of the small team that launched the first driverless car on public roads. He worked as Perception Tech Lead at Waymo from 2013 to 2018, enabling cars to see and understand all important aspects of the environment with extremely robust and efficient machine learning algorithms, and designing Waymo’s camera systems. Andreas received a PhD from Graz University of Technology, where he was heading the Aerial Vision Group and lectured at the Institute for Computer Graphics and Vision. He was a visiting researcher at Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute, and his academic research was focused on image-based 3D reconstruction, localization, and autonomous navigation for micro aerial vehicles.
Follow Andreas Wendel:
About Kodiak Robotics: Kodiak Robotics develops autonomous technology for long-haul trucking.
John Stockton
SVP of R&D of AEye
John Stockton is in charge of overseeing AEye’s product development, working closely with AEye’s technologists and customers to ensure product excellence. Stockton is an entrepreneur and seasoned semiconductor executive with a track record of taking products to market and scaling production. His past CEO roles include ARC International, a semiconductor intellectual property company; Synergy Semiconductor, a maker of high-speed bipolar ICs; and Stream Machine, an MPEG-2 codec maker. He was also the founder of SVision, as well as a fellow at VLSI, where he co-created the company’s PC Chip-Set Division, and organized ARM Ltd., a UK-based processor design and intellectual property licensing company. Stockton has been a venture partner at both Mayfield Fund and Autotech Ventures, where he focused on semiconductor/MEMS/EDA and automotive sectors, respectively. John holds a Bachelor’s degree in nuclear and electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Follow John Stockton:
About AEye, AEye: AEye develops AI-powered LiDAR systems for vehicle autonomy, advanced driver assistance systems, and robotic vision applications.
Nate Ramanathan
Senior Vice President Operations of AEye
Follow Nate Ramanathan:
About AEye: AEye develops AI-powered LiDAR systems for vehicle autonomy, advanced driver assistance systems, and robotic vision applications.
Vidhya Ranganathan
VP of Engineering of MOJIO
Follow Vidhya Ranganathan:
About MOJIO: Scalable, secure and hardware-agnostic, Mojio is the platform and SaaS provider of choice to build and scale connected mobility services.
Kyle MacDonald
VP of Marketing of MOJIO
Follow Kyle MacDonald:
About MOJIO: Scalable, secure and hardware-agnostic, Mojio is the platform and SaaS provider of choice to build and scale connected mobility services.
Kimberly Saunders
Vice President, People and Culture of 3D Robotics
Follow Kimberly Saunders:
About 3D Robotics, MycoWorks: 3DR makes advanced drone technology easily accessible to the construction, mining, and surveying industries for use in data analysis.
Peter Su
Vice President and Chief IP Officer of Moley Robotics
Peter Su is patent strategy and legal director . He is also a partner at Dentons US LLP. Peter is an IP strategist. He advised numerous Silicon Valley companies.
Follow Peter Su:
About FIBREE, Moley Robotics: Moley Robotics develops robotic kitchen with oven, hob, sink, and two dexterous robotic arms that allow it to cook.
Ashu Rege
Senior Vice President of Software Engineering of Zoox
Ashu Rege is the Vice President of Software Engineering at Zoox responsible for Zoox’s entire software platform, spanning AI & machine learning, motion planning, computer vision & 3D perception, localization, mapping, simulation, server-client and base ops software. Ashu joined Zoox from NVIDIA, where he was VP of Computer Vision & Robotics in charge of NVIDIA’s autonomous vehicle and drone technology projects. Previously he held other executive roles at NVIDIA including VP of the Content & Technology group developing core graphics, physics simulation and GPU computing technologies and associated software. Prior to NVIDIA, he co-founded or worked at various startups related to computer graphics, laser scanning, Internet and network technologies. Ashu brings over 20 years of software development experience to Zoox and holds a Ph.D in Computer Science from U.C. Berkeley where he was a Regents’ Fellow and Pardee Scholar.
Follow Ashu Rege:
About Zoox: Zoox is an AI robotics company that provides mobility as-a-service and self-driving car services.
Wayne Miller
VP Hardware Engineering and Manufacturing Operations of Matternet
Follow Wayne Miller:
About Matternet: Matternet makes access to goods as frictionless and universal as access to information.
Srinivasa Ogireddy
Executive Vice President of Products, Engineering and Operations of Saba Software
Follow Srinivasa Ogireddy:
About Saba Software: We want to help transform your talent management processes to help you drive better business results and gain competitive advantage.
Steve White
VP of Engineering of Olis Robotics
Steve White brings a unique combination of experience launching successful startups and leading large engineering teams. He launched Technical Arts Corporation, a leader in 3D sensing technology and White Marsh Forests a pioneer cloud machine learning for image recognition. Dr. White also held key technical leadership roles at Microsoft (Partner Architect), Corbis (Director of Technology) and The Analytic Sciences (Director of Visual Exploitation Technologies). Steve holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from MIT where he focused on machine- and human vision at the Artificial Intelligence Labs.
Follow Steve White:
About Olis Robotics: Olis Robotics gives operators the ability to intuitively control complex robotic systems.
Steve White
VP of Engineering of Olis Robotics
Steve White brings a unique combination of experience launching successful startups and leading large engineering teams. He launched Technical Arts Corporation, a leader in 3D sensing technology and White Marsh Forests a pioneer cloud machine learning for image recognition. Dr. White also held key technical leadership roles at Microsoft (Partner Architect), Corbis (Director of Technology) and The Analytic Sciences (Director of Visual Exploitation Technologies). Steve holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from MIT where he focused on machine- and human vision at the Artificial Intelligence Labs.
Follow Steve White:
About Olis Robotics: Olis Robotics gives operators the ability to intuitively control complex robotic systems.
Venkat Rajagopalan
VP of Product and Co-Founder of Locomation
Venkataramanan Rajagopalan is a co-founder, director, and the VP of Products at Locomation. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Robotics at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Technology Lab. With over 13 years of professional experience in the research and development of technologies for robotic systems including, Mr. Rajagopalan is building solutions for perception, planning and control algorithms for unmanned ground and aerial vehicles; and developing computer vision algorithms. His early work on the Convoy Active Safety Technology (CAST) has seen it continue on many successful demonstrations for the US Army and Marine Corps. And his work at Lockheed Martin Corporation has earned him prestigious technical honors and an Annual Ethics Award (2011).
Follow Venkat Rajagopalan:
About Locomation: Locomation develops safe and reliable autonomous trucking solutions.
Michael George
VP of Engineering and Co-Founder of Locomation
Michael George is a co-founder, director, and VP of Engineering at Locomation. Prior to Locomation, He was a Senior Commercialization Specialist and Senior Robotics Engineer at the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC), a division of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. He has been active in robotics and autonomous systems for 15 years. He holds a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering degree with first class honors from the University of Sydney, Australia and a Master of Engineering degree in Robotics from the Australian Center for Field Robotics (ACFR). He’s expertise includes positioning, localization, state estimation, and mapping for autonomous vehicles. While at the ACFR he worked on large-scale teams of air and ground robots in information gathering and mapping missions. He then spent several years in the aerospace industry working on real-time simulation software for pilot training, before moving to NREC in 2008. At NREC, He was the lead engineer on multiple governmental and industry programs. Immediately prior to founding Locomation, he led NREC’s efforts on the U.S. Army Autonomous Ground Resupply contract.
Follow Michael George:
About Locomation: Locomation develops safe and reliable autonomous trucking solutions.
Patrick Shea
VP Marketing of Markforged
Follow Patrick Shea:
About Markforged: Markforged is a manufacturing company that invents a new 3D printing process to build parts with the strength of Continuous Carbon Fiber.
Patrick Shea
VP Marketing of Markforged
Follow Patrick Shea:
About Markforged: Markforged is a manufacturing company that invents a new 3D printing process to build parts with the strength of Continuous Carbon Fiber.
Jason Laramie
Title Vice President, Global Head Translational Medicine Data Science of Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research
Follow Jason Laramie:
About Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research: Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) is the innovation engine of Novartis
Tony Poon
SVP of Product of Skycatch
Follow Tony Poon:
About Skycatch: Skycatch builds technology to autonomously capture, process, and analyze 3D drone data.
Zachary Levow
Co-Founder, Executive Vice President and CTO of Barracuda Networks
Zachary Levow is a pioneer in mail server development, remote access, and the free Internet space. As Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Barracuda Networks, he leads the innovation and development of Barracuda’s security and storage solutions. Prior to Barracuda, Levow was Co-founder and Vice President of Engineering for Affinity Path, a self-service, private label and profitable DSL/dial-up ISP with more than 4,000 partners. Prior to Affinity Path, he was Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Spinway Inc., the fastest growing ISP in history, reaching eight million customers in just eight months (acquired by Kmart Corporation). During his tenure at Spinway, Levow was the lead developer of the Spinway architecture, one of the world’s largest client server applications at that time. Also, he has worked as a software development and architectural software design consultant for clients such as Sun Microsystems, Computer Sciences Corporation, Cadence Design Systems, and Motorola Inc. He received a B.S. in mathematics and computer science from Carnegie Mellon University, and was named a 2007 Ernst & Young “Technology Entrepreneur of the Year for Northern California” award recipient.
Follow Zachary Levow:
About Barracuda Networks: Barracuda is a provider of powerful, easy-to-use, affordable IT solutions for security and storage.
Erin Hintz
SVP & CMO of Barracuda Networks
Follow Erin Hintz:
About Barracuda Networks: Barracuda is a provider of powerful, easy-to-use, affordable IT solutions for security and storage.
Brian Babineau
SVP & GM MSP of Barracuda Networks
Follow Brian Babineau:
About Barracuda Networks: Barracuda is a provider of powerful, easy-to-use, affordable IT solutions for security and storage.
Ken Martin
SVP, Worldwide Manufacturing Operations of Barracuda Networks
Follow Ken Martin:
About Barracuda Networks, Barracuda Networks: Barracuda is a provider of powerful, easy-to-use, affordable IT solutions for security and storage.
Dave Farrow
VP, Information Security of Barracuda Networks
Follow Dave Farrow:
About Barracuda Networks: Barracuda is a provider of powerful, easy-to-use, affordable IT solutions for security and storage.
Aleks Bogoeski
Vice President Of Strategic Alliances of CU Direct
Follow Aleks Bogoeski:
About CU Direct: Technology and solutions for dealers and lenders
Josh Dobies
VP Product Marketing of Riverbed Technology
Follow Josh Dobies:
About Riverbed Technology: Riverbed Technology is a solution provider for fundamental problems associated with IT performance across wide area networks.
Rodger Mack
Vice President of Supply Chain & Manufacturing of Xenex
As Vice President of Supply Chain & Manufacturing, Rodger has the pleasure of leading a dedicated team of professionals in supply chain management, manufacturing, and technical service. This team of professionals are committed to building and servicing Xenex germ zapping robots with world class quality and meeting all internal and external service level agreements. Prior to this role Rodger served Xenex as the Vice President of Client Services. Prior to joining Xenex, Rodger held many leadership positions in the medical device and call center industries. Rodger recently served as the Chief Operating Officer for a medical device company. During this 14 year career in the medical device industry, he helped grow the business from 30 employees to over 2,500 employees and increase revenues from $1 million to $500 million. The company was also recognized as being one of America’s best places to work. Rodger was born and raised in the central Texas area, and received his Bachelor’s degree with honors from St. Edwards University. Rodger also was a four year letterman and senior captain on the St. Edwards baseball team, playing catcher. Much of Rodger’s time outside work is spent coaching his children’s sports teams and enjoying time with family and friends at the beach.
Follow Rodger Mack:
About Xenex: Xenex offers Pulsed Xenon Full Spectrum, a UV disinfection solution that reduces the bacterial load associated with the risk for HAIs.
Rodger Mack
Vice President of Supply Chain & Manufacturing of Xenex
As Vice President of Supply Chain & Manufacturing, Rodger has the pleasure of leading a dedicated team of professionals in supply chain management, manufacturing, and technical service. This team of professionals are committed to building and servicing Xenex germ zapping robots with world class quality and meeting all internal and external service level agreements. Prior to this role Rodger served Xenex as the Vice President of Client Services. Prior to joining Xenex, Rodger held many leadership positions in the medical device and call center industries. Rodger recently served as the Chief Operating Officer for a medical device company. During this 14 year career in the medical device industry, he helped grow the business from 30 employees to over 2,500 employees and increase revenues from $1 million to $500 million. The company was also recognized as being one of America’s best places to work. Rodger was born and raised in the central Texas area, and received his Bachelor’s degree with honors from St. Edwards University. Rodger also was a four year letterman and senior captain on the St. Edwards baseball team, playing catcher. Much of Rodger’s time outside work is spent coaching his children’s sports teams and enjoying time with family and friends at the beach.
Follow Rodger Mack:
About Xenex: Xenex offers Pulsed Xenon Full Spectrum, a UV disinfection solution that reduces the bacterial load associated with the risk for HAIs.
Diana Schlosser
Executive Vice President of Marketing of Swift Navigation
With VP Marketing roles at Copper Mountain Networks, BigBand Networks, SolarCity and Blu Homes—Diana has a winning track record for driving exceptional revenue growth, building epic brands and growing market share. With more than 20 years of leadership experience in companies of all sizes and stages of development, she has a passion for identifying challenges and opportunities to disrupt markets and create great customer experiences. Diana holds a BA degree from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA degree from St. Mary’s College.
Follow Diana Schlosser:
About Swift Navigation: Swift Navigation offers hardware and software that makes GPS positioning technology available for autonomous vehicle and device guidance.
Colin Ward
Senior Vice President Chemicals & Refining of ABB
Follow Colin Ward:
About ABB: ABB provides power and automation technologies for smart grids, robotics, electric cars, renewable energy and motors.
Heather Cykoski
Group Vice President of ABB
Heather Cykoski, Group Vice President, leads ABB’s efforts to accelarate new growth. Responsible for developing, implementing and managing the relationship and total business acquisition of ABB with global customers worldwide. In addition to her current role she leads the global Engineering, Procurement, Construction Industry Network. A passionate global business leader with 20+ years of international experience leading multi-divisional, multi-cultural teams in the energy value chain. Joining in 2005, Heather has served as North American Manager for British Petroleum and Shell. In 2007 she was named Vice President, Group Accounts working with The Dow Chemical Company, successfully executing chemical plants and new investments in Asia, Middle East, Europe and North America. In 2010, she led ABB’s partnership with Dow Chemical and Saudi Aramco’s joint venture, in Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia. A partner from concept through lifecycle. Later in 2012, she managed Group Strategic Project investments including East Africa’s liquid natural gas and North America’s gulf coast chemical and liquid natural gas investments. Heather is a leading member of the National Association of Professional Woman, served as a delegate of the Global Women’s Forum for Economy & Society, Member of Texas A&M Alumni and Society of Petroleum Engineers. She leads the Encompass Diversity & Inclusion Houston Chapter and serves on the board of the Pinehurst community. She resides in Houston, Texas with her husband and two daughters.
Follow Heather Cykoski:
About ABB: ABB provides power and automation technologies for smart grids, robotics, electric cars, renewable energy and motors.
Andrew Bright
Group Vice President, Head of Corporate Development for ABB Power Grids of ABB
Follow Andrew Bright:
About ABB: ABB provides power and automation technologies for smart grids, robotics, electric cars, renewable energy and motors.
Steven Krum
Vice President, Business Development of Learnosity
Follow Steven Krum:
About Learnosity: Learnosity provides the technology framework for authoring, assessment delivery, and reporting for the world’s best assessment solutions.
Jeri Asher
Co-Founder & EVP of Jibo
Serial entrepreneur and business executive. Deep expertise in bringing health-based technologies to the home.
Follow Jeri Asher:
About Jibo: Jibo is a design-driven company that creates unforgettable experiences through advanced robotics technology.
Clint Cope
VP, Engineering & Co-Founder of Elroy Air
Follow Clint Cope:
About Elroy Air: Elroy Air is a logistics company that specializes in the fields of logistics, robotics, and air transportation.
Caroline Finch
VP, Growth of Udacity
Caroline Finch is Vice President of Growth at Udacity, leading all brand, marketing, and user acquisition teams. Prior to joining Udacity, she was the MD Europe for Fabletics, a TechStyle company. She launched both JustFab and Fabletics in the UK, was Direct Response Performance Leader for Yahoo! London, and led acquisition efforts for a pre-IPO Vonage. Caroline relishes scaling high-growth startups. She has lived and worked in New York, Amsterdam, Geneva, and London.
Follow Caroline Finch:
About Udacity: Udacity develops an online learning platform offering programs in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics sector.
James Richards
VP Engineering & CTO of Udacity
James Richards is Vice President of Engineering at Udacity. Prior to joining Udacity he worked at Nest Labs, leading server-side development teams. During his time at Nest, he oversaw the release of several versions of the thermostat, smoke detector, and security camera focusing on the interaction model of these IoT devices. James also was an early engineer and leader at LinkedIn. Over his eight years he built and lead teams helping LinkedIn scale to hundreds of millions of users and thousands of employees.
Follow James Richards:
About Udacity: Udacity develops an online learning platform offering programs in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics sector.
Yasser Khan
Executive Vice President of Plasma Business Intelligence
Executive Vice President at Plasma Computing Group
Follow Yasser Khan:
About ONE Tech, Inc., Plasma Business Intelligence: Plasma Computing Group offers businesses with a BPM solution that focuses on business process automation and transformation.
Keith Merrill
Vice President of Plasma Business Intelligence
Follow Keith Merrill:
About Plasma Business Intelligence: Plasma Computing Group offers businesses with a BPM solution that focuses on business process automation and transformation.
Keith Merrill
Vice President of Plasma Business Intelligence
Follow Keith Merrill:
About Plasma Business Intelligence: Plasma Computing Group offers businesses with a BPM solution that focuses on business process automation and transformation.
J. Christopher Flaherty
Vice President, Intellectual Property Strategy of Medrobotics
Follow J. Christopher Flaherty:
About Medrobotics: Medrobotics is a medical robotics company developing and commercializing the Flex Robotic System.
Richard S. Walsh
Vice President, Global Sales of Medrobotics
Mr. Walsh brings over 20 years of medical device sales and sales management experience with a focus mainly on emerging growth medical device technologies. Most recently, Mr. Walsh was Vice President of Sales for NeoTract, Inc., a company which develops and commercializes surgical products for the urology market. Previously, he was the Director of Global Sales and Integration at Acclarent, a pioneer in the development and commercialization of products for the ENT market, where he was responsible for the integration of the Acclarent international distribution network into the Johnson & Johnson Ethicon commercial organization. Prior to that, he was Eastern Area Director of Sales at Acclarent where he grew the Eastern U.S. balloon sinuplasty business to $34 million and was elected Sales Director of the Year for 3 consecutive years. Before Acclarent, Mr. Walsh held the Vice President of Sales position at Atricure (NASDAQ: ATRC) and Stereotaxis (NASDAQ: STXS). Before Stereotaxis, he was Sales Director, Eastern United States, at Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) where he helped commercialize the DaVinci Surgical Robot. Mr. Walsh began his medical device sales management career at United States Surgical (now Covidien) where he was Regional Sales Manager, Mid-Atlantic Region. Mr. Walsh received a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Aviation Studies from Embry Riddle and served for 7 years in the U.S. Army as an Army Aviation Officer.
Follow Richard S. Walsh:
About Medrobotics: Medrobotics is a medical robotics company developing and commercializing the Flex Robotic System.
Russell M. Singleton
VP, New Business Development, SVP Research & Development of Medrobotics
Dr. Singleton joined Medrobotics in April, 2013 after consulting for several complex imaging and automation equipment companies in the medical device and life science sectors. His extensive corporate experience spans roles including VP R&D, CEO, COO and general management. Dr. Singleton has led complex technology organizations through significant inflection points and growth including a successful turnaround of a division of Philips Healthcare. As VP R&D of Molecular Dynamics, his team drove the growth of the company through a successful IPO and eventual acquisition by GE Healthcare. His systems, vision and automation expertise was honed from eighteen years at KLA-Tencor, a dominant semiconductor inspection and measurement company. Dr. Singleton received his B.E. (Electrical) from Pratt Institute, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in Electrical Engineering. He completed the AEA/Stanford University Executive Institute program on ‘Management of High Tech Companies.
Follow Russell M. Singleton:
About Medrobotics: Medrobotics is a medical robotics company developing and commercializing the Flex Robotic System.
John D. Bonasera
Vice President, Clinical, Regulatory & Quality Affairs of Medrobotics
Mr. Bonasera brings over 30 years of experience in the medical device industry, having directed quality assurance, regulatory affairs and clinical development at multinational corporations and early stage medical technology companies. He has been responsible for developing and executing effective and novel strategies to navigate challenging regulatory paths to achieve FDA and foreign approvals that led to the commercialization and/or clinical trials of a variety of complex medical devices including implanted drug delivery systems, implanted resorbable spinal implants, and embolic micro particles. Prior to joining Medrobotics he directed clinical trials of new and innovative technologies including the use of a patient’s own stem cells to create new blood vessels in untreatable vascular disease to prevent amputation of the leg and foot and to improve cardiac function after heart failure. In each regulatory and clinical project he lead teams of engineers, physicians, attorneys, statisticians and other experts. Mr. Bonasera has a BA in Biology and Psychology from the University of Massachusetts. He is a certified regulatory professional and a certified medical technologist. In his early career he supervised hospital laboratories and received a faculty appointment to Northeastern University to teach clinical laboratory science.
Follow John D. Bonasera:
About Medrobotics: Medrobotics is a medical robotics company developing and commercializing the Flex Robotic System.
John D. Bonasera
Vice President, Clinical, Regulatory & Quality Affairs of Medrobotics
Mr. Bonasera brings over 30 years of experience in the medical device industry, having directed quality assurance, regulatory affairs and clinical development at multinational corporations and early stage medical technology companies. He has been responsible for developing and executing effective and novel strategies to navigate challenging regulatory paths to achieve FDA and foreign approvals that led to the commercialization and/or clinical trials of a variety of complex medical devices including implanted drug delivery systems, implanted resorbable spinal implants, and embolic micro particles. Prior to joining Medrobotics he directed clinical trials of new and innovative technologies including the use of a patient’s own stem cells to create new blood vessels in untreatable vascular disease to prevent amputation of the leg and foot and to improve cardiac function after heart failure. In each regulatory and clinical project he lead teams of engineers, physicians, attorneys, statisticians and other experts. Mr. Bonasera has a BA in Biology and Psychology from the University of Massachusetts. He is a certified regulatory professional and a certified medical technologist. In his early career he supervised hospital laboratories and received a faculty appointment to Northeastern University to teach clinical laboratory science.
Follow John D. Bonasera:
About Medrobotics: Medrobotics is a medical robotics company developing and commercializing the Flex Robotic System.
Ryan Helon
SVP, Investments of Rev1 Ventures
Ryan J. Helon serves as Senior Vice President, Investments at TechColumbus, Investment Arm. Mr. Helon serves as Managing Director at Nationwide Mutual Capital. He leads Nationwide Mutual, including originating, executing, and managing investments. He also develops and implements strategies for Nationwide Mutual to leverage the resources of Nationwide to add value to Nationwide Mutual Capital portfolio companies. He also leads strategy development for Nationwide Mutual. Prior to his leadership role with Nationwide Mutual, Mr. Helon served as a Corporate Development Manager at Nationwide, where he led and participated in many transactions, including the CalFarm and Marítima acquisitions, the private equity investments in Teamstaff and Capital Professional Advisors and Nationwide Mutual’s $400 million issuance of surplus notes. Mr. Helon also jointly led the creation and development of the firm. Prior to Nationwide, he worked in corporate finance in the chemical industry, primarily on M&A transactions. Mr. Helon serves on the Boards at First Choice Solutions, Skybus, and The Columbus Council on World Affairs. Mr. Helon received an M.B.A. from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, where he graduated as salutatorian and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics, summa cum laude, also from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business.
Follow Ryan Helon:
About Rev1 Ventures: Rev1 Ventures is an investor startup studio that combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporates innovate.
Wayne Embree
EVP, Venture Acceleration & Investments of Rev1 Ventures
Wayne ensures that our Venture Development and Investment teams have everything they need to help entrepreneurs build great companies. After three decades of being an entrepreneur, investor, board member, and mentor, he has no intention of stopping now. Wayne has a BS in Natural Sciences from Western Oregon and an MS in Urban Planning from the University of Oregon. He takes his favorite quote, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro,” seriously.
Follow Wayne Embree:
About Rev1 Ventures: Rev1 Ventures is an investor startup studio that combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporates innovate.
David Bergeron
SVP, Venture Acceleration & Development of Rev1 Ventures
David works with Rev1 clients on market validation. He helps entrepreneurs develop business plans that position startups to clear milestones and remove risk. While working in Silicon Valley, David helped entrepreneurs develop business plans for ideas and technologies emerging from academic and other institutions. Advances included new 3D flash memory from Stanford, an evolving novel new plasma etch technology from Cal Poly, and MEMS-based scanning electron microscopy from UC Berkley. David has BS degrees in both Physics and Mathematics from Georgetown University, plus as MS degree in Applied Mathematics from Georgetown University. David’s favorite book is Cosmos by Carl Sagan, and he wishes he had invented video games. So do we.
Follow David Bergeron:
About Rev1 Ventures: Rev1 Ventures is an investor startup studio that combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporates innovate.
Mike McCann
VP, Corporate Partnerships of Rev1 Ventures
Mike McCann is An MBA from The Ohio State University, Mike also holds a BA in History. Here at Rev1, he’s helping our clients make history of their own. Mike leads two strategic programs that deliver expertise and talent to Rev1 clients. The Expert Network connects startups with quality professional services firms. Our growing set of talent initiatives and services help startups find the resources they need. An avid golfer, Mike admires caddies everywhere as great examples of entrepreneurship.
Follow Mike McCann:
About Rev1 Ventures: Rev1 Ventures is an investor startup studio that combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporates innovate.
Yuta Endo
VP/GM Head of APAC Operation & NorthWest US Region, Co-founder of FogHorn
Follow Yuta Endo:
About FogHorn: FogHorn is a developer of “edge intelligence” software for industrial and commercial IoT application solutions.
Steve Evans
Vice President of Solutions Engineering of Teneo
Steve’s desire to stay ahead of technology trends inspires our engineering team to seek the best fit solutions for our customers. Steve leads our “as a Service” developments, working closely with our customers and partners.
Follow Steve Evans:
About Teneo: Teneo is the specialist integrator of next generation technology, offering the strongest mix of optimization solutions for networks.
Scott Gibson
Senior Vice President of Americas Sales of Teneo
Scott drives the sales strategy across the Teneo Americas region and takes pleasure in developing a high performance sales team. His satisfaction further stems from being our customers’ favourite vendor and our partners’ favourite partner.
Follow Scott Gibson:
About Teneo: Teneo is the specialist integrator of next generation technology, offering the strongest mix of optimization solutions for networks.
Alex Shikany
Vice President – AIA of Association for Advancing Automation
Alex Shikany is the Vice President – AIA at the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). In his position, Alex runs the day to day operations of AIA, the world’s largest vision and imaging trade group, and is a frequent speaker at industry events around the world. Alex also oversees the association’s market research efforts for the global robotics, machine vision, and motion control markets. Additionally, he develops market opportunity studies and white papers for the automation industry on key issues such as the impact of robots on employment, and the emergence of collaborative robots. Alex is a graduate of Michigan State University’s Broad MBA program, where he majored in Marketing and Finance. He also received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from MSU.
Follow Alex Shikany:
About Association for Advancing Automation, Association for Advancing Automation: A3 is the umbrella association for Robotic Industries Association (RIA), AIA – Advancing Vision + Imaging.
David Stratchko
Vice President, Operations and Co-Founder of FLYMOTION Unmanned Systems
David is the Co-Founder and Vice President of Operations. He plays a key role in establishing long-term strategy and setting the company’s culture and values. His visions and forward thinking have assisted in molding the FlyMotion brand. David aided in conceptualizing FlyMotion in 2014. During his time with the company he has been a key contributor in the development of award-winning products such as FlyMotion TRIDENT and FlyMotion MAVERICK. Prior to his time at FlyMotion, David served over a decade in public safety as a firefighter/paramedic in the State of Florida. He was also attached to the specialized Marine Division. David is a Florida native who enjoys golf, motorcycles and sporting events.
Follow David Stratchko:
About FLYMOTION Unmanned Systems: FLYMOTION has quickly become one of the most recognized drone technology, integration and custom solution companies. Tampa, FL United States
Maurice Cooley
Vice President, Technology of FLYMOTION Unmanned Systems
Maurice is the Vice President of Technology. He is responsible for all technological advancements at FlyMotion, including product hardware, software, design and integration. He is also a key contributor in new ideas and future initiatives. Maurice joined FlyMotion in 2015, and has been vital in the delivery of the award-winning FlyMotion TRIDENT, and the design of FlyMotion MAVERICK. Prior to FlyMotion, he dedicated over a decade of his professional career in the electromechanical field where he specialized in automation controls in the Entertainment Industry. He has also served several years as a law enforcement officer in the State of Florida. Maurice is a Florida native who enjoys global travel and exploration.
Follow Maurice Cooley:
About Carnival Cruise Line, FLYMOTION Unmanned Systems: FLYMOTION has quickly become one of the most recognized drone technology, integration and custom solution companies. Tampa, FL United States
Lauren Schechtman
VP, Marketing & Business Development of Dishcraft Robotics
Lauren Schechtman works as the Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Dishcraft Robotics.
Follow Lauren Schechtman:
About Dishcraft Robotics: Dishcraft is a robotics company focused on solving the labor and sustainability challenges facing foodservice operators.
Mikhail Jones
VP of Software of Agility Robotics
Mikhail Jones is the VP of Software at Agility Robotics .
Follow Mikhail Jones:
About Agility Robotics, Oregon State University: Agility Robotics builds highly efficient, agile, and robust legged platforms for real world applications.
