Richard French

Richard French is a seasoned professional with extensive experience as a Chief Product Officer (CPO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and General Manager (GM) across various industries including online media, SaaS, VoIP, video, mobile, and consumer connected devices.

He possesses a diverse skill set in areas such as user experience, E-commerce, hardware and software platforms, analytics, data-driven products, venture capital, entrepreneurship, product strategy, business development, and technology.

Richard French holds a Master of Science (MS) in Communication Engineering & Signal Processing from Imperial College London and a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science with First Class Honors from University College London, U. of London.

In his career journey, Richard French has held key positions such as Chief Technology Officer and EVP Analytics at Zenfolio, Inc, Cloud Services role at Apple, CTO, EVP Products, and Board Member at Next Issue Media / Texture, among others.

He has a rich history of leadership roles including Head of Development for Connect Apps and Services, GM of Ovi Experience, and Director of Secure File Access and Share Business Line at Nokia.

Moreover, Richard French has also been involved in founding and leading companies; he was the Founder, CTO, and Board Member at Avvenu, CEO of Avvenu, and served as President, COO, and Board Member at 8x8.

His professional journey also includes roles such as Entrepreneur In Residence at Charles River Ventures, Director of Video Communications Development at 8x8, Product manager at Media Vision, and Senior Engineer at IBM.