Built team responsible for hardware development, manufacturing, quality, field service and supply chain from the ground up.   Team kept intentionally lean and cross-functional for efficiency and to take advantage of synergies.   Optimized resourcing by leveraging factory expertise and specialized skills from design and development firms to work through peaks in needs without increasing overall development team size while still preserving IP.* Drove aggressive schedule with new partners in Taiwan, launching ground-breaking initial rower in 14 months from concept to production start.   * Drove cost down by over 15% during first year of production ramp while also reducing field defects and improving overall product quality.* Successfully navigated supply chain issues (material shortages & lead times, freight limitations) created by the pandemic to meet production needs. * Cultivated second sources for key components, including bringing on a second final assembly partner remotely during the pandemic.* Developed completely new Hydrow Wave during the pandemic, also taking 14 months from concept through production start.

Hands-on executive recruited to build and lead manufacturing and operations team for a first-of-its-kind social robotics platform in a fast-growing start-up. Responsible for hardware development in addition to the direction, strategy, planning and execution of the company’s manufacturing operation and supply chain activities, product quality, and customer service delivery.* Led comprehensive contract manufacturer selection process that included partners in the U.S., China and Mexico, negotiated pricing and Manufacturing Services Agreement (MSA), and managed relationship with selected manufacturing partner.* Fostered a highly collaborative environment resulting in a seamless functional blend between hardware, manufacturing and quality departments including resources at manufacturing partner.* Successfully produced over 25,000 highly complex robots in time for holiday shipments by working through an accelerated production ramp while maintaining strict technical and quality requirements. - Partnered with manufacturer’s supply chain team to optimize sourcing, lead times and costs while accomplishing cost, quality and technical goals. - Leveraged manufacturer’s engineering, quality and production resources to augment internal expertise and save cost. - Maintained high quality manufacturing standards which have resulted in lower than projected field return issues.* Expanded role to encompass hardware and software engineering for a 7-month period after the Vice President of Engineering departed.* Built global manufacturing, quality, supply chain and customer support teams from the ground up.* Created supply chain framework to accommodate direct to consumer, retail, and B2B shipments.

Key executive in a 19-person start-up providing product development and manufacturing consulting services to start-ups and larger corporations seeking manufacturing assistance in the U.S. and China. * Initiated, developed, and vetted customer leads for manufacturing services in support of business development and primary U.S. interface to 10-person Far East team, managing manufacturing consulting programs.- Led request for quote (RFQ) process, creating documentation package, identifying appropriate contract manufacturers, gathering quote details and analyzing results.- Negotiated Manufacturing Services Agreement (MSA) on client’s behalf.- Facilitated communication between U.S. clients, Far East manufacturers and Dragon team.* Subcontracted as VP of Product for Lightwave, LLC., to provide technical leadership and project management on an aggressive schedule. Project was technically challenging, breaking new ground in large scale networking of wearable devices. (August 2013 – January 2014)* Retained as interim VP of Engineering for Coravin, LLC., to lead new product development during critical stage of development cycle, driving technology development, IP protection, and first stages of Chinese manufacturing of a complex high pressure mechanical system. (June – October 2012)

Recruited to lead engineering execution of roughly half of Hasbro’s $4B toy and game portfolio (2000+ new products / year) from concept through manufacture. Team consisted of over 40 mechanical and electrical engineers broken into 4 teams supporting 3 businesses spread over 3 locations. Created and implemented product development and organizational strategies. Mentored, coached, and developed teams and individuals. * Interacted daily with partners and executives in marketing, design, quality and project management both locally and with counterparts in the Far East office. * Successfully transitioned teams through organizational change that split the department into engineering and project management, within existing headcount. Redefined roles and responsibilities, transitioned projects, and managed change while maintaining current project load and schedules.* Managed $5M budget across three cost centers, utilizing internal, external, domestic, and Far East resources for most cost efficient development on short schedules.* Served as technical lead for task force trips to China for preschool product. Met with Chinese vendors and Far East staff to negotiate and reduce costs on critical items for 2011 and 2012 product lines. Trips compressed a 3 to 4 month process into one week and are estimated to have saved over $10M.

Asked to lead the Mechanical Engineering team after division was restructured into a matrix format. Provided leadership, mentoring, and professional development for a team of 24 robotic engineers located in the US and India. * Identified opportunities for improved processes and necessary training. Implemented plans quickly and drafted a new Design Review process to pilot with existing programs without disruption.* Improved communication within the Mechanical Engineering discipline and fostered more collaborative work between projects.

Led and pioneered new group to support existing product lines and core business of the division. Role and team grew to encompass Sustaining Engineering tasks, quality improvements and returns reductions, line extensions, cost reductions, and development of new products with schedules shorter than one year. Duties included gathering and analyzing customer call center and product return data, root cause analysis to isolate issues, and design and implementation of changes without impacting production (up to 30,000 robots/week).* Tackled $5M/year product return challenge and implemented field software fix to address most critical issue in less than 6 months, saving $1M/year. First-year actions saved the corporation nearly $5M in cost avoidance and cost reduction.* Introduced new products which generated an incremental $11.7M in product revenue utilizing global resources.* Launched division’s first outdoor product by co-developing with a Chinese vendor and QA team in India. Product was produced in less than one year, reducing typical development cycle by over 50%.

Led the newly-formed Consumer Robotics engineering team through stages of rapid growth and cultural evolution while developing new products and supporting existing products already in manufacture. Duties included building and leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams, establishing product development and change control processes, managing budgets up to $6M, project and capital expenses, and all performance reviews.* Transitioned the division from a primarily research-based organization into a product development organization capable of developing multiple products in parallel.* Provided leadership and drove recruiting process as department grew from 15 to 45 mechanical, electrical, software, and research engineers over a two-year period. Built and maintained an open, collaborative, team-based, and creative culture highly valued by the corporation.* Implemented a new product development process to add structure where there was none. Incorporated changes necessary to maintain control, while still allowing for flexibility and creativity in the process.* Simultaneously filled Director and Program Manager roles, driving next generation Roomba ® to successful launch. Kept team focused and moving forward despite new model introductions and feature changes.

Led a team of 9 designers and engineers to develop all new projects within the Advanced Development Services Group. This included developing and implementing the technical and business direction of the group, managing costs and all human resource activities, and fostering an innovative environment responsible for the rapid development of selected, high visibility, fast-track projects. Provided input and established direction on emerging procedures, budgets, capital, and technology requirements. Provided technical leadership for all projects within the group and the engineering and project management of individual projects as needed.

Promoted to increasing levels of responsibility during tenure with company. As Lead Engineer provided engineering and project management of simultaneous individual projects as well as overall project and technical management of other projects within the Playskool and Advanced Development groups. Worked closely with counterparts in industrial design, marketing, quality assurance, and manufacturing on product development teams to develop products from concept through manufacture.

Project Engineer responsible for design and development of major new consumer products from concept through manufacture. Worked effectively in a co-located, multi-disciplinary team environment on projects involving extremely demanding schedules and calculated risk taking. Highlights included successful development reducing time-to-market by over 40% and pioneering successful use of external R&D partner and contract manufacturer.

Physical Designer of new data communications equipment. Principal responsibilities included mechanical design, schedule planning, cost analysis, coordination of through-hole and surface-mount layout on dense multi-layer printed circuit boards, and design for manufacturability. Two patents received for “Techniques for Reducing Electromagnetic Interference.”