Mitch Stein

471A Molino Ave.
Mill Valley, CA 94941

Phone: 415.577.5029
Email: mitch@steindesign.com
URL: http://www.steindesign.com

Award-winning management and technical achievements in:

• User Experience
• Research, design and development of software, hardware and services • Sales
• Marketing
• Business development
• Expert witness
• Founding, funding and sale of companies

• Proven track record for creatively delivering vision, leadership, mentorship, direct contribution and comprehensive support for teams large and small in information technology, consumer electronics and the broad range of industries that they impact.

• Executive positions at Apple, IBM Research, Yahoo, Oracle and Adobe Systems.

• Founder/co-founder of six start-up companies.

Areas of expertise include:
• All aspects of User Experience
• Design, Development and Deployment of software, hardware and services. (I am particularly effective working wherever "the atoms meet the bits")
• Engineering Project Management
• Marketing
• Sales: Retail and Institutional
• Operations
• Business Development
• Customer and Technical Support
• Executive Management
• Expert Witness

In addition to IT, I have worked on a diverse array of products and services spanning many industries, including:
• Consumer electronics • Healthcare
• Sporting Goods • Finance
• Government • Education
• Scientific Research • Architecture
• Navigation Technology • Automotive
• Insurance • Entertainment
• Retail • Corporate Sales
• Customer Support • Motorsports
• Hospitality • Food Service
• Publishing • Non-profit

Consulting clients have included:

• Motorola • Palm
• AT&T • Microsoft
• Yahoo! • Sonic Solutions
• Michelin • US Military
• Honda • Yamaha
• Suzuki • Numerous technology startups
• American Motorcyclist Assoc. • UnderArmour
• Stanford University • University of Wisconsin

My LinkedIn profile includes a collection of personal recommendations from a 360 degree sampling of subordinates, peers, managers and clients.

Achievements

User Experience (Human Interface) Designer, Software Developer, Marketing Consultant Business Consultant
SteinDesign | 1990- present

Mobile

• Design and development of a range of mobile applications and physical accessories for iPhone, Android and WebOS based smart phones, including companion cloud-based services.
AT&T Mobile Consultant.Design of contextually aware, socially driven, universal mobile video player, using physical and data context (e.g. Location-based services, physical gestures, tagging, recommendations, etc) to deliver a breakthrough mobile viewing experience. Design employed advanced ergonomics, novel visual design and tight cloud/smartphone integration.
Skyscape Consultant on long-term User Experience vision, design and implementation for an extremely broad and deep family of mobile medical reference materials and tools, available across all major smartphone platforms and the web.
Motorola Consultant. Assisted in design of next generation cellphone family, including integrated hardware/software/services user experience.
PalmSource, Inc Consultant. Strategic analysis and development of next generation user interface prototypes for PalmOS in the areas of contextual computing, task management, and efficient one-handed interaction ergonomics.
• Architecture and design of a wide variety of pen-based, mobile computing applications.

Consumer & eCommerce

•Design and development of Home convergence products and technologies (including the worlds first Digital Video Recorder as part of an integrated Home Digital Hub).
• Architecture and design of interactive home fitness and health systems including:
• video based motion tracking
• social networking
• physician/therapist telepresence
• referral/consulting network
User Experience architecture and design of Microsoft eShop, online retail shopping service.
Sonic Solutions Consultant on architecture and design of 10-foot (Home Theater) User Experience for streaming video players.
Plastic Logic Consultant on extensible, content distribution architecture and Digital Rights Management for business-class eBook Readers.
• Conceptualization, architecture and design of a broad family of HW/SW offerings targeted at delivering context driven information support (i.e. memory assistance and situational awareness) for individuals, families and organizations that is: automatic, integrated, networked and pervasive.
• User Experience architecture and design of quick, simple, cloud-based video creation and sharing application; targeted at viral, word-of-mouth, ad campaigns, and event sharing between friends and families.

Commercial & Enterprise

• Interface design and market position analysis for a variety of Internet “push”solutions.
• Interface consulting on internet based, video conferencing HW/SW.
• Architecture and design of modular, networked software distribution strategies and products.
• Design of information ecologies for delivery of scalable, multi-tier, cost effective, authentication services.
•Development of strategic analyses for a variety of hardware and software products across personal and mobile computing platforms.

Database Development

• Sales force automation • Client/account/contact management
• Inventory • Job bidding
• Warranty tracking • Conference management
• Subscription management • Tournament management

Expert witness

• Delivered detailed evaluation and analysis on a number of patent infringement cases.
• IMS Expert Services:
IMS elitexpert

Business consulting

• Business planning
• Venture capital and acquisition deal structuring.
Director of Innovation and Design
Clairmail (Acquired by Monitise in June of 2012) | 2012- present
• Chartered with driving Innovation into every aspect of Clairmail's products, services and operations (Mobile Banking Industry).
• Responsible for delivery of world-changing User Experience in all aspects of Clairmail products and services.
Mentor, Coach, Consultant
Stanford University | 2007- present
• Mentor and coach for D-School (design), Computer science and Engineering project teams.
• Consultant to Stanford incubated start-up companies.
Chief Technology Officer
Blue Planet Run Foundation | 2006-2007

Responsible for all technology activities for this non-profit foundation focused on bringing safe drinking water to the world's one billion plus people who lack adequate access to this basic need. Our chief fundraising approach based on spreading the word and generating awareness through an unprecedented, 95 day, non-stop, around the world running relay, covering 15,200 miles and accomplished by a team of just 20 citizen athletes.

• Designed and managed development of the Foundation's new website, taking advantage of the latest Web 2.0 technologies and imbued with a host of social-networking, viral-propagation and community building facilities.

Senior Director, User Experience, System Technologies
Oracle | 2005-2006
Responsible for User Interface innovation and standards for all Oracle products and services. Manage groups responsible for visual design, interaction design and user research/testing of System Technology products including:
• Developer Tools
• Application Server
• Business Integration
• Business Intelligence
• Identity Management
Senior Manager, Research Staff Member
IBM Research Division | 1997-2002
• Led IBM research efforts in Pervasive Computing including the delivery to market of the CrossPad Portable Digital Notepad, the first product to ship directly from IBM Research and a 1997 Best of Comdex finalist.
• Coordinated IBM efforts in the emerging areas of Peer to Peer computing, Identity Management and Grid Computing technologies.
• Created and led the Worldwide LifeNetworking research effort including advanced user interaction technologies, next generation pervasive computing devices and infrastructure (Industrial Design, software architecture, prototyping), knowledge extraction, and home automation.
• Coordinated IBM efforts with consumer electronic, appliance, automotive, construction and architectural firms, as part of the integration of information technology into everyday devices, .
• Won international design awards for industrial Design and an internal IBM Design Competition for InfoPortal. InfoPortal Prototype on Display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and the 2001 SMAU conference in Milan.
• IBM Research Liaison to consumer electronics, white goods, and retail firms.
• Submitted nearly a dozen patent disclosures and filings in a broad range of fields including User Interface, pattern recognition, speech recognition, electronic commerce, materials science.
• Presented Life Networking projects at IBM Board of Directors meeting.
• Member of IBM Corporate Design Consultancy.
• Senior Architect on the IBM Research, Planet Blue Initiative.
• Co-authored multiple corporate technology initiative papers.
• Member of numerous corporate advisory panels,commissioned by the IBM executive committee.
• IBM Research spokesperson including many invited speaking, writing and press (TV, radio and print) engagements, Including Newsweek Magazine, the PBS Nova series "Science of the Impossible", MIT Technology Review feature article on IBM Research, CBS Radio, IEEE Multimedia invited paper on the future of User Experience.
• Drove recruiting (academic and business).
• Participated in numerous internal training and summer intern enrichment programs including 'Summer Jam'.
• MIT Media Lab/IBM Investment Steering Committee member.
Director of Human Interface Technologies
Apple Computer, Inc. | 1993-1996
•Provided vision for and directed delivery of advances in Apple’s User Interface Technologies.
• Managed large multi-department organization, totaling over 150 people, involved in:
• design
• user research and testing
• development
• qualification
• and marketing of system software.
• Major projects included:
• Finder
• Installer
• Chooser
• Feature Manager
• User Experience components of the High Level Toolbox
• Sherlock advanced (content searching technology)
• Cyberdog (component based internet navigational tool)
• End user OpenDoc Parts
• Speech synthesis and recognition
• pen computing
• Managed the group responsible for Apple’s world-wide human interface design (visual and interaction), productization, and education.
• AppleSoft executive staff member • Successfully managed an annual budget of approximately $17 million. • Consistently delivered products on-time and within budget. • Managed major portions of five Operating System releases. • Project director for future component-based, internet-focused OS release. • Active participant in corporate level strategic planning. • Chartered with the design and implementation of Apple’s future user experience direction. • Creator of multiple hardware/software prototypes, including predecessors of the iMac and numerous components eventually included in OS X. • Involved in cross divisional Architectural Councils • Chief AppleSoft Liaison with Apple’s Advanced Technology Labs, and Industrial Design. • Inventor of 7 pending user interface patents.
Director of Advanced Products
Make Systems, Inc. | 1991-1992
• Defined vision for and managed an Independent Business Unit which developed sales force automation tools for use by large sales organizations.
• Designed and developed an automated proposal generation system for the fourth largest U.S. long distance carrier to be deployed into a non technical sales organization. The system included:
• Created a high level product definition language (PDL) to be used by the product management team to model and test pricing strategies
• Development of a cross-compiler which automated the creation of production billing software based on PDL models
• Scanning and character recognition of the prospect's existing phone bills
• Sophisticated cross-industry cost modeling
• multimedia proposal generation.
• Developed a large, distributed, multi-user system (including content and model authoring tools), was developed from initial specification through documented beta release in only 9 months, including recruitment of the entire development team.
Co-founder, Vice President - Development
Slate Corporation | 1990
•Co-founded (with Dan Bricklin, Vern Raburn, Tom Byers and Dottie Hall) a software company dedicated to pen-based computing.
• Established corporate product direction
• Created the company’s cornerstone product PenApps. Responsible for product definition, architecture, design and development.
• Set up Bay Area Development Center.
• Recruited staff of industry veteran software engineers/architects and product marketing manager.
• Key liaison with GO corporation, development subcontractors, and Slate clients.
• Participated in venture fundraising and board meetings.
Product Marketing Manager, Engineering Manager
Adobe Systems, Inc. | 1983-1988
• Directed all aspects of product management, marketing, and engineering of forms products for Adobe.
• Participated in long range strategic planning.
• Evaluated target product and company acquisitions.
Founder, President, CEO, Chairman
Spectrum Digital Systems, Inc| 1983-1988
• Managed product development, manufacturing, marketing, sales, support, financial and administrative functions.
• Key designer of TrueForm, forms processing software.
• Secured multiple rounds of financing from a variety of sources.
• Recruited Board of Directors and acted as Chairman.
• Negotiated sale of the company to Adobe Systems (this was Adobe's first acquasition).
• Designed and developed motorcycle and auto race timing and scoring hardware and software systems .
Member of Technical Staff, Service Engineer
Hewlett Packard Company | 1979-1983
•Desktop computer R&D Engineer:
• color graphics hardware and software
• networking systems
• mass storage drivers
• As a Service Engineer, led design, implementation and ongoing management of serviceability features for desktop computers including: • hardware • software • troubleshooting methodology • service organization operational guidelines • documentation • service kits • Provided final line of factory support to HP's field service force.
Manager
Audio Alternative | 1980-1983
Concurrent with employment at Hewlett Packard, I managed a high-end, boutique audio shop.
• Managed sales, delivery and customer service.
• Designed high quality listening rooms that reflected state-of-the-art home environments.
• Pioneered the use of in-home demonstrations.
• Custom designed/configured system installation
• Researched and selected products lines offered.
• Managed Inventory
• Designed and ran pricing and promotion programs
Developer, Consultant
Technicolor Digital Systems | 1977-1979
Designed, developed and supported software and hardware solutions across a diverse set of industries, including:
• Civil engineering
• Plasma physics
• Institutional pharmacy
• Hotel management
• Inventory control.

Education

Publications

Awards & Honors