PHILIPPE PIERNOT, PH.D.

(650) 924-1224

CTO / VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING

Innovative, hands-on executive with record of leading design and development of high technology products, improving processes and procedures to drive revenue, efficiency, and market share.

Results-oriented visionary with unique background in engineering and design. Expertise in Internet technologies, mobile applications, eCommerce, Internet telephony, media streaming, enterprise software, systems integration, and product design. Strong strategic and long-range planning abilities; skilled in setting product and technology strategies in B2C and B2B environments. Diverse background covers engineering, user experience, network operations, quality assurance, customer support, and marketing functions. Core competencies:

Product development
Recruiting and hiring
Organizational development

Relationship building
Change management
Contract negotiations

Mergers and acquisitions
Employee retention
Due diligence

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Director User Experience Design

, Yahoo! Inc., Sunnyvale, CA

2007-2009

Directed design of Framework, a set of reusable AJAX-based user interface components, interaction patterns, and design guidelines used across APT, Yahoo!'s next generation digital advertising platform. Additionally served as Director of User Experience Design for Yahoo! Groups.

Managed all Framework design activities and coordinated 9 teams across 3 locations.
Led, mentored, and retained Framework core design team during corporate reorganization.
Delivered 3 major Framework releases under aggressive deadlines and limited resources.
Streamlined internal and external processes, improving efficiencies between Product Management, Interaction Design, Visual Design, User Experience Research, Prototyping, Engineering, and Quality Assurance teams.
Defined the Framework strategy and championed Framework adoption outside of APT by Yahoo! Web Analytics and Yahoo! Search Marketing Desktop.

VP Online Distribution

, InfraWorlds (now part of IN-FUSIO), Campbell, CA

2005-2006

VP Engineering

then

CEO

, 995 SOFT, Palo Alto, CA

2002-2005

Founded and grew 995 SOFT to become a leading developer and publisher of games, utilities, and reference applications for smartphones. Successfully sold company to Paris-based InfraWorlds.

Increased revenue 50% year-over-year by setting low prices to reduce competition, minimizing development costs, aggressively growing the product catalog, expanding distribution, and running profitable ad campaigns.
Hired and supervised Serbian team of outsourced programmers responsible for application porting, new software development, and quality assurance.
Quickly grew catalog to 20 products — 10 products for Palm OS and 10 products for Windows Mobile — by initially improving, porting, and repackaging existing open source software.
Established products as best sellers by securing lucrative online and offline distribution deals, negotiating optimal advertising rates, and maximizing cross-sells and repeat sales.
Brought all of InfraWorlds' assets under a unified storefront and expanded online distribution reach.

CTO and VP Engineering

, Bertelsmann BeMusic, Redwood City, CA

2001-2002

Recruited to facilitate sale of Myplay — a provider of digital music subscription and private label locker services — to Bertelsmann by reducing costs, eliminating piracy, and overseeing due diligence efforts.

Directed Software Engineering, Network Operations, and Customer Care departments (combined staff of 20.) Hired and mentored key employees (100% retention post acquisition.) Managed $7.5M operating budget.
Enhanced operations by reorganizing software engineering department into 3 functional teams and creating procedures for development, release management, monitoring, and escalation.
Supported Bertelsmann's acquisition of Myplay in Q3 2001 from due diligence to deal closure.
Reduced costs 25%, fraud 70%, downtime from 240 to 20 minutes/month, streaming bandwidth from 150 to 80Mbs, and EMC storage from 40 to 20TB by improving music locker service and renegotiating contracts.
Integrated digital music subscription service with Bertelsmann's online music retailer CDnow.

VP Product Development

, Pagoo Communications, San Francisco, CA

1999-2001

Held full responsibility for the design, implementation, customization, and delivery of Pagoo's innovative Voice Over IP products and services. Pagoo is now part of RingCentral.

Built product development organization from ground up and established 4 key groups: Web Engineering, Client Software, User Experience Design, and Quality Assurance. Hired and led team of 4 directors and 20 engineers.
Released Call Catcher (Internet Call Waiting application for PC and Mac) and redesigned website featuring new sign-up, eCommerce, and customer support sections.
Shipped the website, client software, and reporting tools for a PC-based residential phone service (IPN.)
Evolved IPN service into customizable XML-based VOIP platform and implemented billing. Customized solution for delivery to Cisco Systems and Italian ISP Tiscali.

Founder and Chief Technology Officer

, Zowie Intertainment, San Mateo, CA

1998-1999

Spun-off the R&D project I was managing at Interval into a separate company. Zowie shipped its line of award-winning interactive toys to all major retailers Q3 1999. The company was later acquired by Lego.

Created the initial business plan and the roadmap for future technologies and products.
Oversaw intellectual property issues and inventor relations.
Served as key member of executive team; participated in competitive analysis, market definition, product design, engineering processes, strategic partnerships, and fundraising.
Architected Zowie's Software Development Kit. Supported all hardware, software, and manufacturing efforts.

Manager and Member of Research Staff

, Interval Research, Palo Alto, CA

1995-1998

Interval was Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s think tank and start-up incubator. Reported to CEO.

Hired and managed a 10 person team of researchers, engineers, designers, and business consultants.
Developed innovative input technology to provide new ways for end-users to interact with PCs.
Led the design and prototyping of applications leveraging that technology.
Planned and oversaw usability tests and market research studies. Filed over 10 patents.
Participated in additional projects: Internet push publishing client and interactive video browsing system.

Research Scholar

, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

1993-1995

Completed Ph.D. research in AI and HCI. Topic: Programming by Demonstration.
Co-designed the user interface for one of the first large scale multi-user web-based applications.
Won "Best Hardware/Software Integration and User Involvement" and "Best Presentation" awards at the 1994 Apple Interface Design Competition for creating usage scenarios, building multimedia prototypes, and conducting usability tests for a children's Internet-enabled PDA.

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Computer Science
, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France.
Research conducted at Université Pierre et Marie Curie and Stanford University.
M.S. in Computer Science
, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France.
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering
, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, Nantes, France.

TECHNICAL SKILLS SUMMARY

Languages: C/C++/Objective C, PHP, Java/JSP, Javascript, ActionScript, VB/ASP, Smalltalk, Lisp.
Internet standards: XML, JSON, SOAP, AJAX, RSS, HTTP, SMTP, H323, TCP/IP, MIME.
Servers: BEA WebLogic, Microsoft Internet Information Server, Netscape Enterprise Server, Apache, Oracle, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Hummingbird Search Server, Portal Infranet.
Operating systems: iPhone OS, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Linux, MS Windows.

PATENTS

Apparatus and Methods for Forwarding and Handling Telephonic Messages Over a Data Network: WO 2001/020887.
Attention Manager for Occupying the Peripheral Attention of a Person in the Vicinity of a Display Device: US 6,034,652, US 6,750,880, US 6,788,314, US 7,348,935.
Browser for Use in Navigating a Body of Information, with Particular Application to Browsing Information Represented by Audiovisual Data: US 6,263,507, US 6,880,171.
Coded Objects and Methods for Detecting Such Coded Objects: US 6,108,612.
Coded Object System and Code Recognition Methods: US 6,151,564.
Computer Method and Apparatus for Interacting with a Physical System: US 6,167,353.
Detecting Physical Objects States Using Electromagnetic Sensors: US 6,417,663.
Interactive Entertainment Systems and Methods: WO 2000/045250.
Media Generating System and Method: WO 2010/006063.
Video Camera Based Computer Input System with Interchangeable Physical Interface: US 5,953,686, US 6,047,249.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Logjam: a Tangible Multi-Person Interface for Video Logging, in Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Human Interaction (CHI '99), 1999, pp. 128-135.
Using the Web Instead of a Window System, in Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Human Interaction (CHI '96), 1996, pp. 103-110.
Designing the PenPal: Blending Hardware and Software in a User-Interface for Children, in Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Human Interaction (CHI '95), 1995, pp. 511-518.
A Model for Incremental Construction of Command Trees, in Proceedings of the Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI '95), 1995, pp. 169-179.
The Aide Project: An Application Independent Demonstrational Environment, in Watch What I Do: Programming by Demonstration, Allen Cypher, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993, pp. 382-401.