15th Annual VC Panel – What’s Hot (and What’s Not) in Mobility
— Moderator: Ted Hollifield, Co-Head of Venture and M&A Practice, Alston & Bird LLP
— Eric Zimits, Managing Director, Granite Ventures
— John Occhipinti, Partner, Relay Ventures
— Steve Goldberg, Partner, Venrock
— Quinn Li, Managing Director, Qualcomm Ventures
— Jeff Karras, Managing Director, SingTel Innov8 Ventures
Mark Bagley – Managing Director – Woodside Capital Partners
Mark is the managing director of Woodside Capital Partners. This global independent investment bank provides strategic and financial advisory to leading technology companies, primarily in mergers and acquisitions, equity capital raising, and acquisitions in the middle market and emerging growth companies. Previously headed up Strategic Global Partnerships for BT for 15 years based in Silicon Valley. This role involved finding, qualifying, and then managing partners and alliances in Silicon Valley relevant to BT’s wide range of markets in consumer & business retail & wholesale markets in the UK and IT and vertical solutions for multinationals globally in around 200 countries.
Bill Reichert – Partner – Pegasus Tech Ventures
Bill Reichert is a Partner at Pegasus Tech Ventures, a $2 billion global venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley and offices worldwide. Bill focuses on deep technology investments, including AI, quantum computing, next-generation chips, materials science, and medical technology. He is also the Chief Evangelist of Startup World Cup, the largest and richest venture capital competition on the planet, with over $1.5 million in cash prizes, including a $1 million grand prize.
Tricia Salinero – Managing Partner – Stout
Tricia has completed ~100 technology mergers and acquisitions valued at $4 billion over her 20+ years in technology. She has represented companies that sold to Google, Microsoft, Red Hat, Oracle, American Greetings, and Autodesk.
Tricia received a BA degree in History from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Public Administration from California State University, East Bay, with an emphasis in organizational development.
Joe leads a team of industry experts that guides the mobile industry in development of 5G, Edge Cloud, IoT, and now 6G. We provide deep technical analysis and use hard-nosed economic estimates to make accurate predictions about future technological direction.
By tracking mobile traffic density trends, Joe accurately predicted the rise of small cells four years before it happened. I was the only analyst with accurate predictions for 5G, including FWA success and slow IoT adoption, as early as 2014. More recently (2019), Joe was able to predict accurately how ORAN would be adopted narrowly in the 5G cycle.
Chris is an accomplished sales and channel development team leader focused on the customer journey, acquisition strategy, operational efficiency, and post-sale service evolution. For over 20 years, he has led and closed large, complex sales opportunities. Chris’ experience in Product Marketing, Technical Sales, Sales, and Sales Management, a forward-thinking leadership style, attention to detail, curiosity, and a strategic mindset deliver growth and long-term value for customers.
Email: chris.king@newracom.com
Founded in 1979, Walt spearheaded Voler Systems, a division of Strawberry Tree, Inc. The company excels in medical devices, consumer products, sensors, motion control, and wireless communication. Voler Systems produces wearable, home health, and IoT devices, adhering to FDA 21CFR 820.30 and ISO 13485:2003 standards. Their technical expertise encompasses wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and WiFi, diverse sensors, sensor signal conditioning, energy conservation, FPGA and CPLD programming, embedded system architecture, various communication protocols, and software development on Linux and Windows platforms.
Accomplished, results-driven technology leader with extensive experience providing strategic vision and leadership in large Enterprise companies and innovative startups. Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams to meet critical infrastructure needs. Communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders. Manage alliances and partnerships with large and small organizations. Maintain outstanding vendor relationships.
Colin possess strong global experience in EMEA, APAC, and North America regions. Confident public speaker with extensive experience presenting at key industry events and technical briefings. Groundbreaking executive known for outstanding leadership skills and integrity.
Zeki is Founder and CEO of CRATUS. For 20+ years he has been a senior in business and technical leadership in commercializing Energy Storage, Battery, IoT, sensors, sensing systems, AI and machine learning technologies. Managing a global business with three product lines.
CRATUS provides Engineering Innovation solutions in hardware and software for IoT Technology:
Sensors and Sensing Systems, Battery and Energy Management, Electrification, Machine Vision, Machine Learning, Operational Intelligence, Real-Time Location Services. CRATUS offers consulting services for UI/UX development for software, electromechanical hardware and industrial designs for products. The nature of these services are oriented towards achieving business goals by placing the emphasis on usability and users of the products.
Email: zeki@cratustech.com
As Executive Manager, Peter brings about 40 years of extensive experience in engineering, sales, marketing, business development, and executive leadership in all Wireless Industry, Big Data, FinTech, and SaaS market segments. Since 2008, Peter has been operating as an independent business consultant, consulting domestic and international companies to become successful .
In Germany, Peter was Head of Department of Debis (Daimler Benz InterServices).
Peter has served on the WCA Board since 2013.
Email: peter.walther@wca.org
Mobile: +1-408-823-1551
As a trained physicist, Dr. Jeff Yen has a strong entrepreneurial mindset that made him embark on the journey of business and co-found a company that is developing wireless power technology. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics and astrophysics at UC Berkeley and Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University. He is a co-author of multiple IEEE papers and a co-inventor for 30 patents worldwide.
Marty Cooper is an American engineer and inventor widely recognized for making the first handheld mobile phone call in 1973. He was born on December 26, 1928, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Cooper worked at Motorola at the time, and on April 3, 1973, he made a call from a prototype mobile phone to his rival, Joel Engel, who was also working on mobile communications at Bell Labs. The call was made using a device called the Motorola DynaTAC, which is considered one of the earliest mobile phones.
Marty Cooper’s breakthrough in mobile communications played a significant role in the development and proliferation of cellular technology, leading to the creation of the modern mobile phone industry we know today. His pioneering work revolutionized communication and laid the foundation for the wireless revolution that followed. Marty Cooper’s contributions to the field of mobile communications have earned him numerous awards and recognition over the years.
The book “Cutting the Cord” tells the untold story of how the cell phone revolutionized communication and led to the creation of new industries. It revolves around a battle for control over communication, involving government regulators, lobbyists, technology breakthroughs, and a protagonist, Martin Cooper, who played a significant role in the creation of the cell phone. The book describes how Cooper’s early life influenced the cell phone’s development. The narrative unfolds as industry skirmishes escalate into a political war in Washington, with the aim of preventing a monopolistic company from dominating telecommunications.
Jeremy is Leader of Research and Development, Product Line Management, and Open Innovation directing teams of up to 30 people with $80M+ in revenue responsibility, for global companies with 5,000+ employees and $2B+ in revenues in Industrial Automation, Semiconductors, Wireless, Computer Hardware, and Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing.
Jeremy Vice President of Research and Development at Azbil North America R&D
www.linkedin.com/in/jeremytole/
Jeremy has served on the WCA Board since 2016.
Email: Jeremy.tole@wca.org Mobile: +1-408-431-6397
As a Global Business Developer in Breakthrough Technology, Marcel has accumulated over two decades of experience in (digital) marketing, start-ups, go-to-market (GTM), and access-to-market (A2M) strategies. Additionally, he recently co-founded “Amplify your Globalization,” a platform designed to accelerate the growth of start and scaleups. Marcel’s analytical thinking skills enable him to excel at converting complex problems into solutions. He is a team-oriented motivator who takes a hands-on approach to leadership. Furthermore, Marcel is an expert in innovation, and his passion for leading and motivating teams helps him to develop strong interpersonal relationships.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelverheyen/
Marcel has served on the WCA Board since 2020.
Email: marcel.verheijen@wca.org
Paul is leading the TNL U.S.A. Mobility Business Unit, a Technolution subsidiary and engages with municipalities and public transit agencies to solve their hardest problems. As proven in San Francisco where they reduced public transit delay on red by 72.5%, reduced CO2 emissions by 26.1%, and build all the processes, roles & responsibilities, and technology, to deploy to potentially hundreds of intersections.
As a strategy execution consultant who specializes in helping transportation agencies, he helps realize high-impact improvements to the safety and experience of the people in the streets and in the public transit vehicles.
Paul is a regular speaker at conferences and webinars. He holds a Master of Science degree from Twente University, The Netherlands.
www.linkedin.com/in/paulhoekstra
Email: paul.hoekstra@tnl.group
Pui San Tam is a manager with a strong background in international community building and a passion for innovation. She leads projects focused on driving entrepreneurship and innovation in the technology sector. Based in San Francisco, she has served as a consultant to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. Fluent in three languages — Dutch, Chinese and English — she has successfully delivered projects for some of the world’s leading private and public organizations, spanning multiple areas such as startups, scale-ups and cross-Atlantic entrepreneurship in general. She is skilled at organizing fact-finding and trade missions, and she plays a crucial role in organizing events and moderating seminars as a panelist on topics in emerging technologies, including climate and sustainability. She is known for her excellent communication and collaboration skills and her passion for teamwork. Pui San is committed to driving positive change through her projects at Amplify.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/puisantam/
Email: puisan@schoolab.network
Andy Do is the Founder and President of Embedded Works and a Board Member of the Wireless Communications Alliance (WCA.org) his focus area is wireless IoT technologies. Mr. Do has over 20 years of wireless industry experience, with an emphasis on GPS, WiFi, Cellular, and LPWAN radios and applications. He has launched several IoT brands, including TrackingForLess and SensorWorks. He holds bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and music from Santa Clara University. He has held management positions at Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, and Proxim.
Andy has served on the WCA Board since 2020.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andytdo/
Email: andy.do@wca.org
Tom is a successful entrepreneur who has launched and grown products and companies in highly competitive and emerging markets. Experienced in sales, business development, go-to-market strategy, and execution as a general manager. Tom presently serves as the Managing General Partner of Axcellex, LLC. This strategic consulting firm assists technology firms in overcoming significant business obstacles, seizing new market possibilities, and achieving tangible outcomes.
www.linkedin.com/in/tom-hunt-b403/
Tom has served on the WCA Board since 2018.
Email: tom.hunt@wca.org
Mobile: +1-408-205-0313
