Meet Karin.
DEEPLY CURIOUS.
Living my Dream Job…
- Makes full use of my technical and leadership skills
- Encompasses emerging (deep-)technologies and people
- Is intellectually challenging
- Is dynamic – if status quo is what you need, I’m not the right fit!
- Is international and may take me to remote regions
- Has a positive, sustainable impact on planet Earth
When I’m Not Working…
- Science & engineering fun projects
- Flying airplanes
- Aikido… meditation and martial art
- Search & rescue, disaster relief
- Philanthropy – STEM, environment & sustainability, women/girls
Learning Never Stops…
- UC Berkeley and UCSF – Biomedical Engineering, Robotics and Controls (Ph.D.)
- University of California Berkeley – Electrical Engineering (M.S.)
- MIT – EECS (S.B.) and Molecular Biology (S.B.)
- Haas School of Business – Global Bio-Executive Program (certificate)
- UCSC Silicon Valley – Embedded Systems (certificate)
- deeplearning.ai – Deep Learning (certificate)
- Any time, anywhere, by any means available
Work.
SAMPLE PROJECTS.
Click on any of the images below to see examples of my work (or adventure) in that category.
Work Skills.
TECHNOLOGY. GLOBAL. MANAGEMENT.
I am most effective when multiple disciplines, technical and non-technical, physical and virtual, become entangled.
01. SUBJECT MATTER.
- Engineering: hardware + software products, machine learning / AI
- Embedded systems: design and control
- Internet of Things (IoT) strategy and applications
- Aviation based sensor data
- Applications in energy / clean tech, medical, and extreme environments
02. FUNCTIONS.
- Emerging tech & engineering program management, Taku International (Quanto) (current)
- Lead R&D (hardware design, embedded systems, deep learning), product strategy
- CEO, VP Engineering, CTO, VP Products
- Agile management of on- and off-shore engineering teams
- Deployment of technologies in new markets (global)
- Opening new markets – local operations, product adaptation to meet new market needs, local partnership development
- Non-profit and for-profit (private) board of directors
- CEO of C-level advisory and interim executive company, Taku Group
- Managing Member of global IT /technology consulting firm, Taku International (with Quanto Group)
03. COMPANIES & ORGANIZATIONS.
- Worked in / with organizations from > 30 countries
- 100s of companies and government agencies from all continents – except Antarctica!
- Global and large domestic companies such as E.ON Group, Arctech Solar, Visa USA, and others
- Research institutions such as Lawrence Livermore National Lab, C.S. Draper Lab, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, SRI, University of California
Skills.
INTERDISCIPLINARY. AGILE.
Please click here to see the book, “Zukunftsorientierte Unternehmenssteuerung in der Energiewirtschaft“(pub 2015 by Springer Verlag), in which I co-authored a chapter.
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS + UNCHARTED TERRITORY = RESULTS.
Services.
You…
- Develop or need technology-enabled products
- Can benefit from automation, embedded systems, or IoT deployment
- Are well-established
- Already have or have plans for a multi-national footprint
- Are in transition, whether growing rapidly or dealing with the realities of a dynamic market
Need…
EMERGING TECH.
Agile identification, evaluation, integration, development, deployment of emerging technologies
INTERIM LEADERSHIP.
To help your company thrive in difficult transitions, particularly those pertaining to technology development or deployment where the physical and virtual worlds intersect
UNUSUAL ENVIRONMENTS.
Solutions for extreme environments or highly unusual situations, whether domestic or global
Support
- Part- or full-time management engagements
- Board of directors or advisory board participation
- Specific projects
- Strategy advising
- Speaking and training
Please contact me for a complimentary conversation to see whether we are a good fit.
Updates.
Welcome to my blog. I’ll mainly focus on topics and projects that pull together some of my technical interests and/or mental models of how I view the world.
I Voted
I have voted. Have you?
First Woman Mission Pilot
I am now the first woman to become a Mission Pilot (MP) in Civil Air Patrol’s (CAP’s) Green Flag program. Achieving this had developed into a significant personal goal, and I simultaneously made CAP history.
iGIANT Seal of Approval Program Launched!
iGIANT Seal of Approval I’m happy to announce that we have launched the iGIANT Seal of Approval. As part of a team within the iGIANT®’s Design Advisory Council, I’ve (we've!) been working on developing a [...]
Urban Rappelling – Outward Bound Fundraiser
Urban rappelling – a concept I hadn’t even heard of until a few months ago, when a friend invited me to participate in this year’s Outward Bound California City Skyline Challenge: rappelling off of the [...]
Thinking about the Impact of Technology in our Lives
The impact of technology in our lives Last week I facilitated a discussion about the impact of technology in our lives. This was an event for/with the awesome startup, Revel. Besides being a thoughtful and [...]
Sustainable Organizational Agility – Customer-Centric and Workforce Supporting
How do we move to a state of sustainable organizational agility? There is a lot of discussion about the importance of the customer, the need for agility, and the critical relationship between the two. In [...]
Clients.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
“Able to relate to multiple audiences of differing talents… What we mean is that [Karin] can relate to the business people as well as the techies… and, finally, not condescending around us ignorami.”
K. LEWIS
“I have met numerous successful, and not-so-effective CEOs…. the best ones shine in the following areas: strong motivation, excellent leadership ability, organizing savvy, dedication to the work, “out of the box” creativity, and an unflinching determination to find solutions. Karin has mastered all of these skill sets and attributes.”
V. M. BRIGGS
“Karin helped us in improving our business and project management processes, from even before project start (in developing proposals), to managing the software development process, to delivery of final product. All her recommendations have been very constructive and helped us avoid being in a bad situation when delivering, as we had previously experienced. She is very clear on her advice and guidance.”
J.C. HERRERA
Contact.
LET’S TALK.
Operating in an ever-changing environment has enabled me to solve complex, multi-faceted problems; to build trust among diverse audiences; and to continually find better ways of doing things, often integrating seemingly unrelated areas. Rather than focusing on the “obvious”, I look to underlying causes to develop effective solutions.
If you have a problem that you think I may be able to help with or you just want to get in touch, please contact me!