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Peter Hildebrandt
Executive Leader/Mentor
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770.623.8303
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Seasoned leader and mentor who cares about developing the people as much as the business. Workshop facilitator and one-on-one coach with methodologies across all aspects of business: leadership, marketing, financials, product development, sales, and manufacturing. Special emphasis on deeply understanding customers the business serves. Strengths in:
- Executive coaching
- Management methodologies
- Product design & development
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- Group moderation
- Consumer research
- Product marketing
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- Financials
- Technical leadership
- Workshop facilitation
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2010 – Present
Aria Lights, Inc., Johns Creek, GA
Owner
- Aria Lights designs and manufactures music stand lights for professional musicians, symphony orchestras, dance companies, touring shows, Broadway, and more
- The brand that professionals trust
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2013 – Present
Covetability, Atlanta, GA
Principal
- Coach medium and large businesses to improve profitability by making products covetable by their customers
- Specialize in user research using formal methods (surveys, feature-function tradeoffs, card sorts, etc.) and informal methods (focus groups, usability testing, anthropology, etc.)
- Regularly teach workshops on Blue Ocean Strategy, research techniques, pricing, and product differentiation
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2000 – 2013
Steelcase, Inc / PolyVision division, Atlanta, GA
Director, Global Product Management, Research and Development
- Member of the executive management team reporting to the CEO
- Oversaw all research, product development, and product management employees globally
- Defined the global corporate product strategy and roadmap
- Directed the corporate environmental strategy including indoor air quality standards and zero-carbon footprint manufacturing
- Managed corporate patent portfolio (82 plus patents) and all technology licensing activities
- Responsible for full product lifecycle: product definition, competitive analysis, positioning, pricing, new product introduction, maintenance, and culling
- Negotiated strategic licensing and partnership agreements
- Directed all scientific research, including porcelain chemistry, metallurgy, interactive gesture, stylus and touch technologies
- Directed all engineering resources: mechanical, electrical, software, sustaining engineering, testing, documentation, certifications, and localization
- Responsible for products sold into 85 countries and four channels, including electrical and safety certifications into each country
- Supervised / mentored employees in three locations on two continents and development contractors globally
- Drove user research through focus groups, usability testing, heuristic evaluations, and formal techniques
- Managed a multi-million dollar budget
Key Accomplishments
- Successfully launched and life-cycle managed twelve interactive product lines from user requirements through launch to end-of-life
- Made continuous improvements in porcelain enameled steel, resulting in millions in additional yearly revenues and sustained annual growth
- Instituted numerous process improvements including a global phase-gate development process, an engineering change system, and a global CAD & software version management system
- Generated 50+ patents and patent applications in interactive technologies
- Brought PolyVision interactive products from zero to 22% market share in education two years.
1999 – 2000
Pixid, Inc., Portland, OR
President
- Co-founded the company and brought it from zero to $1M in worth in less than one year.
- Managed business development, marketing, product design, and advertising.
- Contracted with outside customer service and fulfillment houses to keep company lean.
- Company produced software for whiteboard capture with digital camera.
- Within 10 months, two companies separately offered buyouts.
- Sold the company’s assets to PolyVision Corporation (above) in May 2000.
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1992 – 2000
Hildebrandt Consulting
Independent User Experience Consultant & Contract Software Designer
- Hewlett-Packard Company – Drove usability testing and user research on printer designs. Led the corporate effort to set standards for user interface design of all HP products with embedded web pages.
- Intel Corporation – Developed focus studies for the design of a new line of consumer peripherals, wrote the Windows control panel for a wireless keyboard and mouse product.
- Intel Corporation – Led effort to design the user experience for certificate-based security models.
- Nike, Inc. – Led the user interface design for Nike’s worldwide shoe and apparel order-taking system.
- Rain Bird, Inc. – Conducted user research and then developed a 192 page design specification for a Windows-based landscape sprinkler central control system.
- Rain Bird, Inc. – Designed the front panel and user interface of the IM series sprinkler controller.
- Roche Pharmaceuticals – Designed pharmacoeconomic drug models.
- Harte-Hanks Interactive – Designed pharmacoeconomic drug models.
- Learning Tree International – Edited and taught four-day Windows software development courses worldwide.
- Media Architects, Inc. – Wrote a Windows image processing control sold by Borland.
- Extended-Range Forecasting, Inc. – Developed Windows software for graphical weather forecast delivery on subscribers’ computers.
- City of Portland, Oregon – Designed and wrote software to control traffic signals through pagers.
- Microfield Graphics, Inc. – Designed firmware and user interfaces for electronic whiteboards.
- CAChe Scientific, Inc. – Through usability testing, redesigned the user interface on a 3D molecular modeling CAD package.
- Also designed and tested user interfaces for an interactive CD-ROM of family statistics, an in-flight entertainment system, a shoe merchandising system, and more.
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1990 – 1992
Micro-Forecasts, Inc., Portland, OR
Vice President, Engineering
- Co-founded the company, a weather forecasting firm.
- Grew the company to 15 people.
- Managed engineering and meteorology staff.
- Developed forecasting tools for meteorologists, numerous weather sensors, and a voice response system handling 30,000 calls a month with automated credit-card billing.
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1988 – 1990
CAChe Scientific Inc., Beaverton, OR
Chief Software Architect
- Software architect of Macintosh and Windows-based stereoscopic 3D molecular modeling system.
- Did user research, wrote detailed design specifications, and directed the software development effort to create and evolve the application software.
- Developed a custom stereoscopic graphics card and co-processor board.
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1985 – 1988
Tektronix Inc., Beaverton, OR
Senior Software Architect
- Performed basic research in stereoscopic computer graphics (hardware & software).
- Spun off CAChe Scientific, a molecular modeling company, to productize the technology.
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1977 – 1985 (junior high through college)
Numerous other high-tech positions & contracts
- Computer graphics hardware, software, & firmware design, video game software, terminal firmware, television weather graphics hardware and software, networking hardware, state competency testing research, power company insulation efficiency software, and others.
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North Carolina State University, BSEE, summa cum laude (4.0 in major), 1985
2015 Annual Partnership Gwinnett Award - Finalist for Influence
2015 Product Camp Atlanta - Best Session award for Blue Ocean Strategy Workshop
2015 Gwinnett Chamber Pinnacle Award - Finalist for Best Small Business Resource
2014 Product Camp Atlanta - Best Session award (of 44 workshops) for Blue Ocean Strategy Workshop
2007 Steelcase, Inc. Crawford Award for product innovation
U.S. Patents Issued
- 10,958,873 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 9,904,462 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 9,870,195 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 9,866,794 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 9,858,033 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 9,495,735 Document Unbending & Recoloring Systems & Methods
- 9,495,587 Document Unbending & Recoloring Systems & Methods
- 9,471,269 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 9,465,573 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 9,448,759 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 9,430,181 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 9,189,107 Eraser for Use with Optical Interactive Surface
- 9,116,656 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 9,027,015 Interactive Communication System Having an Integrated Key Drive System
- 8,899,990 Display mounting systems
- 8,890,842 Eraser for Use with Optical Interactive Surface
- 8,757,819 Conveniently assemblable interactive systems and display device
- 8,723,815 Interactive communication systems
- 8,610,641 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 8,243,028 Eraser assemblies and methods of manufacturing same
- 8,179,382 Visual communication system
- 7,948,448 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 7,834,819 Virtual flip chart method and apparatus
- 7,750,892 Portable interactive communication systems
- 7,427,983 Visual communication system
- 7,242,394 Slidable electronic whiteboard system
- 4,896,210 Stereoscopic graphics display terminal
- 4,808,979 Cursor for use in 3-D imaging systems
U.S. Patents Pending (Published Applications):
- 20150042622 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 20150042622 Eraser for Use with Optical Interactive Surface
- 20140198981 Document Unbending Systems and Methods
- 20140085166 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 20140006976 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 20130343609 Document Unbending and Recoloring Systems and Methods
- 20130339888 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 20130339880 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 20130339861 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 20120162870 Conveniently Assemblable Interactive Systems
- 20120162061 Activation Objects for Interactive Systems
- 20120069054 Electronic Display Systems Having Mobile Components
- 20110279350 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 20110083109 Electronic Whiteboard
- 20100275132 Interactive Communication Systems
- 20090309854 Input Devices with Multiple Operating Modes
- 20090309853 Electronic Whiteboard System and Assembly with Optical Detection Elements
- 20090309841 Eraser for Use with Optical Interactive Surface
- 20090309839 Eraser Assemblies and Methods of Manufacturing Same
- 20090146965 Interactive Communication System Having an Integrated Key Drive System
- 20080297595 Visual Communication System
- 20080192017 Automatic Projection Calibration
- 20080165137 Slidable Electronic Whiteboard System
- 20070106950 Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith
- 20070044028 Virtual flip chart method and apparatus
- 20050280636 Interactive communication systems
- 20050235215 Virtual flip chart method and apparatus
- 20050219225 Virtual flip chart method and apparatus
- 20050156952 Interactive display systems
- 20040239640 Slidable electronic whiteboard system
- 20040070616 Electronic whiteboard
Numerous other international patents on file
- 2013 – Present: Certified Mentor, SCORE
- 2002 – Present: Founder/Director, Georgia Chamber Music Retreat
- 2019 – Present: Board Member, Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra
- 2019 – Present: Board Member, Michael O'Neal Singers
- 2014 – 2021: Chairman, ACMP Foundation
- 2012 – 2021: Board Member, Associated Chamber Music Players
- 2013 – 2018: Gwinnett Branch Manager, SCORE
- 2012 – 2018: President, Georgia Philharmonic
- 1995 – 1996: Editor, Bringing Design to Software, chapters by notables such as Don Norman, Peter Denning, and David Kelley; by Terry Winograd, Addison-Wesley
- 1992 – 2002: Work crew leader, Habitat for Humanity
- Play string bass in amateur and professional orchestras, jazz combos, and other venues.
Solid references available upon request
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