Kineto is engineered for success in the new fixed-mobile convergence market. The members of the management team were selected for their unique expertise and success in delivering carrier-class systems to wireless and wire-line carriers.
As President and CEO, Rick Gilbert is responsible for setting the company's strategic direction and overseeing its rapid growth as the key innovator and leading supplier of UMA technology, the 3GPP standard for fixed-mobile convergence. He brings to Kineto a distinguished track record in leading high-growth public and private technology companies. He also sits on the board of directors of Danger Inc. Prior to joining Kineto, Mr. Gilbert was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Copper Mountain Networks, a leading provider of broadband access products to ILECs, CLECs, IOCs, IXCs, PTTs, and other facilities-based network providers worldwide. Under Mr. Gilbert's leadership, Copper Mountain achieved nearly $500 million in aggregate sales and was one of the most successful initial public offerings of 1999. Prior to Copper Mountain, Mr. Gilbert was the President of ADC Kentrox, one of the fastest growing and most profitable divisions of ADC Telecommunications. Additionally, he has held numerous senior management positions with companies that include Make Systems, Vitalink Communications Corporation and IBM Corporation. Mr. Gilbert's educational background includes a Masters degree in Computer Science from Stanford University and a Bachelor's in Mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley.
Martin Hernandez is Kineto's Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Hernandez was previously president and COO of Rainmaker Systems, Inc. , where he led the efforts that built a customer base of Fortune 100 companies, including IBM, HP and Dell. Prior to that, he served as Rainmaker's CFO and took the company public on NASDAQ . He has held global senior finance and operations roles with Silicon Graphics, at the time a $3 billion manufacturer of high-performance computing, visualization and storage solutions. Prior to Silicon Graphics, Mr. Hernandez held senior financial and operational management positions within Meris Laboratories. He received his CPA while in the San Jose office of Price Waterhouse (now PWC). Mr. Hernandez holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing, as well as an MBA from San Jose State University.
Rajeev Gupta is vice president of engineering at Kineto Wireless, where he is responsible for the development of core network products and played a major role in driving the initial standardization of UMA technology within the 3GPP. Prior to joining Kineto, Mr. Gupta was Vice President of Software at Pico Communications, where he led the development of system software for enterprise-grade Bluetooth and 802.11 Access Points. He has also worked as Senior Director of Technology at empowerTel Networks, where he was responsible for product and network architecture for carrier-class VoIP switching systems, and was also the chief representative to various standards committees. Mr. Gupta began his career at Trillium Digital Systems, a premier provider of telecom and datacom software (acquired by Intel in 2000), where he held roles in engineering development and management, culminating in Vice President of Product Strategy responsible for product roadmap and strategic alliances. Mr. Gupta holds a Technical Bachelor's in Computer Science from IIT, Delhi and a Master's in Computer Science from UCLA.
As vice president of marketing and product management for Kineto Wireless, Ken Kolderup is responsible for product management, product marketing, market development and corporate communications. Mr. Kolderup brings more than 20 years of marketing and product management experience in the telecommunications industry to the company. Prior to joining Kineto, Mr. Kolderup led marketing for Jetstream Communications, the leading supplier of voice-over-broadband equipment to incumbent and competitive local exchange carriers. He also led product management and marketing for Edify Corporation, a leader in the interactive voice response market, and Centigram Communications, a leader in the voice messaging market. Mr. Kolderup began his career in product management at ROLM Corporation. He holds a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a Master's in industrial engineering from Stanford University.
Mark Powell has served as vice president of Kineto Wireless' client software business unit since co-founding the company in 2001. Mr. Powell is responsible for the company's global business and alliance strategy with handset and technology partners. He is a wireless industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in business development, marketing, manufacturing and engineering roles. Prior to joining Kineto Wireless, Mr. Powell worked for both Motorola and Nokia Mobile Phones where he was responsible for cellular handset portfolio planning. Mr. Powell holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Highbury College of Technology in England.
Gary Sarson is vice president of business development, esponsible for Kineto's go- to-market strategy by developing the business and channel partners essential to commercialize Kineto's industry leading technologies. Mr. Sarson spent more than 15 years with Nortel Networks where he helped establish their global GSM Wireless business. Eventually, he led all GSM Marketing and Product Management for Nortel, launching successful new product lines and leading customer activity for some of Nortel's largest wireless contracts. Mr. Sarson also served as the Vice President Portfolio Management across Nortel's entire product line, driving strategy for investment of over $3b of annual R&D investment. Prior to joining Kineto, he was Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at ProQuent Systems, a technology leader in wireless data services content management, which was acquired by Bytemobile. Mr. Sarson brings a global perspective to Kineto having lived and worked in the UK, Canada, France and the USA.
Peter Schmid is vice president of European Sales, responsible for the development, implementation and success of Kineto's European sales strategy. Most recently, Mr. Schmid was founder and CEO of eyeP Media, and a leading vendor of voice and video over IP client software, where he was responsible for the company's success with major European and North American service providers, such as British Telecom. Previously, he held the role of vice president of sales and marketing for Inalp Network, a provider of IP QoS routers and VoIP gateways, where he was also an investor. Mr. Schmid was also the managing director for EMEA for Pairgain Technologies, a US- based DSL company with yearly turnover of $300m. He has a Master's degree in electrical engineering from the prestigious ETH Zurich institute.
Steve Shaw is the vice president of market development for Kineto Wireless and is responsible for the market development and corporate communication strategies of Kineto's product lines. A frequent speaker, blogger and general evangelist for the fixed-mobile convergence and UMA/GAN industries, Mr. Shaw has nearly 20 years experience in product, marketing, and business development roles with telecommunications companies. Prior to joining Kineto, he worked as the marketing director of net.com, a communications equipment company. He was also director of market development for Jetstream Communications, the leading supplier of voice over broadband equipment to incumbent and competitive local exchange carriers worldwide. Mr. Shaw began his career with Dialogic, eventually becoming the director of Dialogic's $20m/year CBF product line. He holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from University of Southern California.
As Kineto's vice president of technology, Patrick Tao manages the company's technology relationships with mobile operators and network equipment provider partners. Mr. Tao is also responsible for driving the continued evolution of UMA technology through the 3GPP standards body. With nearly 20 years of experience in the wireless network industry, he worked with Nortel Networks for 12 years. Prior to this, he worked as the vice president of marketing at Vertel and as the vice president of product marketing at Symmetry Communications. Mr. Tao holds a Bachelor's of Applied Arts and Sciences in electrical engineering from the University of British Columbia.
Board of Directors
Rick Gilbert
President and CEO, Kineto Wireless
Eric Copeland
General Partner, Venrock Associates
Jim Gaither
Managing Partner, Sutter Hill Ventures
Bo Hedfors
Principle, Hedfone Consulting
Kurt Hellstrom
Retired, President and CEO, Ericsson
Thomas Huseby
Managing Partner, SeaPoint Ventures
Jahangir Mohammed
Co-Founder, Kineto Wireless