Venky Rao, Owner / President
Venky is a strategic product management executive with 3 decades of experience in product development and product management. He has a keen ability to translate innovative concepts into lucrative new revenue streams. With a diverse background that spans consumer electronics, mobile applications, IoT, and factory automation, he has been at the forefront of product innovation at leading technology organizations, including Motorola, Google, and Fanuc Robotics. An MIT alumnus with advanced degrees in business and technology, he is an expert in harnessing innovation and steering cross-functional, global teams to deliver award-winning products.
Professional Highlights
Cedar Electronics (Cobra and Escort Radar brands)
Vice President – Products | 2019 – 2023
Led the Product Management for a portfolio exceeding $100M in revenue, transforming Cedar’s connected devices and Cloud Video Management into unique selling propositions while laying the groundwork for recurring revenue and subscription models.
- Radar Detectors, including the Escort Redline 360c
- Dash Cameras, including the Cobra SC400 Dash Cam, crowned PCWorld’s best of 2023
- Drive Smarter iOS and Android applications, with over 500K downloads, over 100K monthly active users on the platform and over 4* ratings
Rand McNally
Director, Product Management, Connected Vehicles | 2015 – 2019
Championed IoT-enabled consumer electronics, apps, and services in navigation and infotainment, contributing to $46M in revenue and a 12% YOY growth.
- Key Achievements:
- Launched an Android-based OverDryve product line – “connected vehicle” hub and related accessories. Included advanced driver safety features, integrated dash cam, satellite radio, re-vamped turn-by-turn navigation and more.
- Introduced ClearDryve, a patented design for a line of headphones geared towards professional drivers.
Motorola Mobility | Google | Lenovo
Director, Product Management, Companion Products | 2005 – 2015
Directed the launch of innovative product lines and managed strategic partner engagements, leading to significant revenue growth and the conceptualization of MotoMods for the Moto Z smartphone.
- Key Achievements:
- Drove initial concepts that led to MotoMods, a significant innovation in smartphone customization.
- Led to creation of the M4DE (for Motorola) program for certified 3rd party accessories
- Cradle-to-grave product management of new product categories that created new revenue streams for the “Companion Products” business, including the earliest wearable Bluetooth accessories, mono and stereo headsets, wireless productivity peripherals
Skills & Expertise
- Portfolio Planning
- User Stories & Market Segmentation
- Business Modeling & Roadmaps
- Strategic Partnerships & Marketing Strategy
- Agile Methodologies
- IoT, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA
M.B.A. (Sloan School of Management) and M.S.M.E. (School of Engineering)
Leaders for Global Operations (LFM) Fellowship Recipient
University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO
M.S. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of Mumbai, India
B.E. Mechanical Engineering