UCLA Anderson School of Management

UCLA

Product Executive, Lecturer, Innovation Consultant

Creating online courses and online experiments for the study of Disruptive Technologies and Innovations for all learners, in a non-technical language without math. Topics on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Automation, Blockchain & Fintech, and Biotech. Course format is animated videos and ands-on experiments with increasing level of difficulty, but in a simple language.

XYLO Academy

Founder and CEO

UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science

Lecturer

Developed the curriculum and teaching a new course on “New Product Development” for a new minor program in Entrepreneurship (first of its kind at UCLA). Course emphasizes academic principles, frameworks, real world examples, and applications that are being developed and adopted by start-ups and established companies alike. Examples include many local companies active in Silicon Beach.

Visiting Lecturer

Providing product and business consulting services for technology start-ups and established companies:
Intuition Intelligence Inc. – focused on developing proprietary prediction engine with optimal relevancy.  
Modulates.com – focused on messaging and value proposition for customers  and investors, helped the company pivot to provide video solutions for affiliate marketing.
Meljun International (Shenzhen, China). Lived and worked in China, built and staffed facility and created comprehensive ERP software to manage operations and accounting.

Innovation Consultant

Developed the curriculum and taught MBA courses: Marketing Management, and Product Innovation and Management, providing 275 hours of instructions. Taught classes with E2B component: A project in which students work in teams supporting a customer form the industry on issues related to product strategy, roadmap, and go to market.

Pepperdine University

Adjunct Professor

Recruited to lead the Sensor Division into profitability, with a product portfolio serving 500+ customers in consumer electronics, medical device and industrial segments.
- Managed P&L, product development, product management, marketing and HR, as well as annual budgets and operating plans.
- Reduced prototyping and NPI cycle from 5 weeks to 5 days, improved design-wins from one out of ten to one out of two.  Reduced time-to-market and time-to-revenue by six months. Achieved profitability within twelve months.

Interlink Electronics

Sr. VP and General Manager

Retained by this US semiconductor company following Photobit acquisition to develop the market for mobile/PC segment within newly formed Imaging nosiness unit. Responsible for all segment products including product strategy, roadmap, life cycle management, go-to-market and launch.
- Drove the segment from start to $500M in annual revenue by developing and managing key products targeting high growth segments such as mobile and smart phones.
- Developed and launched 25 new products catapulting Micron to #1 position in the market (35% market share, 40% gross margin). Participated and led many phase gate reviews related to these products. Trained and empowered 700+ sales team to sell these groundbreaking new products.
- Thought leader on small cameras and the associated ecosystem. Represented the division in exhibition, analyst reviews and conferences. Established Micron brand as an industry leader and the benchmark in quality through a rigorous media and promotional campaign.

Micron Technology Inc.

Director of Mobile Segment

Promoted through several roles of progressive responsibility to manage four ASIC design centers.
- Established comprehensive and unified ASIC design methodology (capture, simulation, DFT, etc.).
- Participated in development of new Xerox-wide Product Delivery Process (PDP) improving product acquisition spending (PAS) and time-to-market (TTM).
- Contributed to formulation of a new vision for Xerox (digital and connected products) as a member of the electronics division strategy and planning council, and the patent committee.

Farhad Rostamian