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About Us> Management Team
Mick Mountz - CEO and Founder
Mick founded Kiva Systems in January 2003 after spending thirteen years
in high tech product development, manufacturing, operations and marketing.
Prior to Kiva, Mick worked on a business process team at Webvan designing
a next generation distribution strategy for grocery home delivery,
during which he experienced first-hand the high cost of order fulfillment
and the inflexibility of existing technologies. Prior to joining Webvan,
Mick spent three years in product marketing at Apple Computer as a
Product Manager where he helped move many new technologies into the
standard desktop platform including FireWire, DVD, Fast Ethernet,
and 3D graphics acceleration. He began his career at Motorola, where
he spent seven years working as both a Mechanical and a Manufacturing
Engineer. Mick holds five United States technology patents. He earned
a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration degree
from Harvard Business School.
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Benge Ambrogi - VP of Product Development

A seasoned veteran with 22 years of experience in the product development world, Benge leads the Kiva Hardware and Software engineering teams. He is responsible for the overall systems architecture and the product development processes. Benge came to Kiva after 13 years at Deka Research and Development, where he contributed to the design, architecture, and leadership of a number of products, including the iBOT (tm) mobiliy device, the Segway Human Transporter, and an upper limb prosthetic for DARPA. Prior to DEKA, Benge spent 7 years in the defense industry designing infrared imaging systems. Prior to his role as Kiva's VP of Product Development, he led hardware development of the Kiva's CaseFetch system, as well as the field deployment a 500 robot customer facility. Benge has Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds 27 patents related to balancing technology. |
Michael Barbehenn - VP of Software Engineering
 A
veteran Software Engineer with more than a decade of experience, Michael
manages the engineering and development of the production software
applications that drive Kiva's systems. Prior to joining Kiva, Michael
spent nine years at Motorola in various software development roles.
As a member of the company's semiconductor sector technology group,
he helped develop and deploy tools to support the use of emerging
complex microcontrollers and processors. As part of Motorola's global
software group, Michael helped establish a software center at corporate
headquarters to serve the communications, industrial, and automotive
sectors. His work in process optimization helped him to earn a Six
Sigma Green Belt. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in computer
science and mathematics from Cornell and a Doctorate in computer science
from the University of Illinois.
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Dan Brunner - VP of System Analysis

A leader in the simulation community with 19 years of experience in
services delivery and software product development, Dan manages the
systems engineering function that turns unique customer inventory
management requirements into working Kiva system designs. Dan helps
Kiva use simulation to verify and tune each design and to demonstrate
system operation to customers and prospective customers. Prior to
Kiva, he founded Systemflow Simulations, Inc., a provider of engineering
services to material handling, manufacturing, and mining clients and
a developer of system visualization software products. Previously
Dan worked for Wolverine Software Corporation, Electronic Data Systems,
and TRW. Dan holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
from Purdue University and a Master of Business Administration from
the University of Michigan.
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Raffaello D'Andrea - Engineering Fellow, Systems Architecture
 A recognized expert in the development and application of tools for
controlling complex dynamical systems, Raff is responsible for overall
system architecture and control algorithms development. He received a
Presidential Early Career Award for Science and Engineering in 2002 for his "Theoretical and Experimental Advances in the Robust Control of Feedback Systems". Raff served as the system architect and faculty advisor for the four time world champion Cornell University RoboCup autonomous robot soccer team. He is the recipient of two best paper awards from the American Automatic Control Council and the IEEE, has won a National Science Foundation Career Award, and has received several departmental and college-wide teaching awards at Cornell. His dynamic and interactive art has
been on exhibit at several international venues, including the Venice
Biennale, Ars Electronica, and the National Gallery of Canada. Raff holds
an Engineering Science degree from the University of Toronto and a Doctorate
from the California Institute of Technology in the division of engineering
and applied science. He is a professor of engineering at ETH Zurich. |
Jim DeSisto - VP of Supply Chain

Jim DeSisto joined Kiva after a variety of successful executive positions
with a number of industrial technology companies. Before joining Kiva,
Jim was Chief Operating Officer of a private equity backed technology
company that he helped turn profitable and cash flow positive with
additional sales bookings, customer shipments, and cost controls before
selling the company to a larger public company. Prior to this, he
was General Manager with profit and loss ownership of $100 and $400
million dollar industrial aerospace businesses with Honeywell/AlliedSignal,
where he led significant revenue/profit growth, operational improvements,
and cost reduction programs. Jim has also worked as manufacturing
manager, program manager, and consultant with roles emphasizing cellular/lean
manufacturing, process improvements, six sigma, and cost productivity.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Brown
University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard
Business School.
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John Dugan - VP of Business Operations

John leads Kiva’s internal business operations including human resources, finance, legal, intellectual property and corporate affairs.
Prior to joining Kiva, John advised over twenty technology companies through all stages of growth and outcome as a corporate attorney at
Orrick and Venture Law Group in Silicon Valley. John has negotiated and closed numerous company critical transactions including public
offerings, venture capital financings, licensing transactions and both private and public mergers and acquisitions.
Earlier in his career, John served as a Captain in the U.S. Army and worked as an Operations Manager at Stryker Endoscopy, a medical
device company. John holds a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a J.D. from Stanford Law School. |
JD Harris - VP of Professional Services

As Vice President of Professional Services, J.D. drives all aspects of Kiva delivery and customer care, including Deployment Services and Customer Support. JD has more than 16 years of experience in operations and professional services leadership and is well known in the supply chain marketplace for his extensive background in innovative implementation practices, his focus on high-value customer solutions, and for bringing a “trusted advisor” approach to all aspects of professional services. Prior to Kiva Systems, JD served as Executive Vice President of Nexiant, where he guided the Board and management team towards new value-added technology and services that resulted in the opening of new markets. JD was also Vice President of Operations for HighJump Software, a 3M Company, where he profitably grew the organization from an $18M start-up to a $55M global organization, ultimately completing a successful sale of the company to 3M. He also held senior executive positions at Vision Technologies and Ernst & Young. JD holds a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Wisconsin. He has an extensive background in Supply Chain, Distribution, Manufacturing, High Tech, and Six Sigma methods and tools. |
Pete Mansfield - Engineering Fellow, Hardware Systems

Noted for his work in the development of complex engineered systems,
Pete contributes his technical and program experience to hardware
engineering and the development of Kiva's products. Pete comes to
Kiva from Mansfield Technical Consulting, a technical engineering
and consulting firm he founded and ran in Bellevue, Washington for
more than six years. A range of projects included development of custom
automated manufacturing test and inspection systems and a complex
gear-box design for the aerospace industry. Prior to launching Mansfield
Technical Consulting, Pete spent seven years with Intelligent Automation
Systems, Inc., where he served in a range of research and program
management roles and focused on developing custom automation equipment
for manufacturing and laboratory deployment, including a complex 3D
vision system, NASA robotic manipulator, and golf ball tracking technology.
Pete holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering
from Columbia and a Doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
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Mark Mastandrea - VP of Customer Experience

Mark is responsible for ensuring that Kiva's customers maximize the
performance of their Kiva Mobile Fulfillment System, leading Customer
Solutions Design, Customer Service, and Continuing Engineering.
Prior to joining Kiva, Mark held operations and supply chain roles at
industry leaders such as Amazon.com, Weight Watchers, Hewlett-Packard and Webvan. At Amazon.com, Mark was Director of Fulfillment, where he led fulfillment operations for the UK and for a US fulfillment center, driving improvement in quality, productivity, output, and safety.
Prior to Amazon.com, Mark was the Program Director at Webvan, where he managed the program from concept through launch, then becoming Director
of Distribution for the Bay Area. Mark began his career in
operations as a software developer for Oracle's ERP system, and has
worked as a management consultant at Pittiglio Rabin Todd & McGrath.
Mark holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemistry and Biology, and
Master of Science Degrees in Management and Materials Science and
Engineering from MIT. |
Mitch Rosenberg - VP of Marketing

Mitch is responsible for marketing and product management, including creating clear messages, expanding market awareness of Kiva, and matching product strategy to customer priorities. For twenty five years Mitch has focused on bringing disruptive technologies to market at companies such as Rivulet Communications, Imaging Automation, MultiLink, PictureTel, Kurzweil Computer Products, and Automatix. He has served in roles throughout the product innovation cycle including design engineering, engineering management, product management and marketing, market development, and sales. Mitch spent much of his career designing and marketing products for business applications, but he is also experienced with selling to government customers and consumers. Mitch earned both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering from MIT, and a Master of Business Administration from Boston University. |
Rob Stevens - VP of Business Development

Rob is responsible for business development at Kiva, working with existing and new customers as well as developing channel and industry partners. Rob joined Kiva from
FreeMarkets, Inc., the leading provider of global supply management
technology and services. An early member of the FreeMarkets team, Rob
helped create and formalize the company's unique online market making
offering, and holds eight United States patents as a co-inventor of
innovations in the field. Rob started the product management group at
FreeMarkets and initiated the company's multi-product strategy before
moving to Tokyo to open the Japanese office and act as General
Manager. After returning to the U.S., Rob became Director of Strategy
and Business Development, where he negotiated a variety of
partnerships and acquisitions, as well as leading the company's
strategy development. Prior to FreeMarkets, he spent two years as a
business analyst with McKinsey and Company in Pittsburgh. Rob holds a
Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Cornell University
and a Master of Business Administration from MIT Sloan School of
Management.
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Matt Verminski - VP of Hardware Engineering
 Matt is responsible for leading Kiva’s hardware development efforts at Kiva. Prior to joining Kiva, Matt guided an assortment of product development efforts from concept to production at Virtual Ink, Sengine and PowerAdvocate. Matt co-founded Virtual Ink, now part of Newell Rubbermaid, where he served as the Director of Systems Engineering. He was an inventor of the company's flagship product mimio, an award-winning digital whiteboard recorder. Matt holds 11 United States and 6 international technology patents. He holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Tufts University.
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Kevin Willis - VP of Sales

Prior to joining Kiva Systems, Kevin was Vice President of Sales at
Evident Software in Bloomfield, New Jersey, where he was responsible
for all field sales and sales engineering activities on a global basis
overseeing more than 100% year over year revenue growth. Earlier Kevin
held the position of Vice President, Sales at Trilogy Software in
Austin Texas. He spent over ten years with Trilogy in a variety of
sales and sales management roles including global responsibility for
the computer manufacturing, telecom and auto industry segments. Kevin
was instrumental in helping to grow Trilogy's annual revenue from
less than $2,000,000 to over $250,000,000 during his tenure. Before
joining Trilogy, Kevin held sales and sales management positions with
Banctec in Dallas, Texas and was the Operations Manager with Cash
Management Services in Boston, Massachusetts. Kevin attended Northeastern
University in Boston and majored in marketing. |
Pete Wurman - Engineering Fellow, Software Architecture
 Widely respected for his research and practical application of Internet and e-commerce technologies, Pete oversees the architecture of Kiva's host control material handling software platform and the creation of resource algorithms that drive various modules of our systems. Prior to joining Kiva, Pete was an associate professor of computer science at North Carolina State, where he served as co-director of the university's e-commerce program and a member of the faculty of its operations research program. An early researcher in Internet auction technology, Pete led the development of the Michigan Internet AuctionBot in 1995 and earned a prestigious National Science Foundation Career Award to study flexible trading agents. He has spent the past decade researching multi-agent resource planning, game theory, and computational mechanism design. Pete holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Master of Science degree and a Doctorate in computer science from the University of Michigan. |
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Zappos.com Implements Mobile Fulfillment System
Retail Info Systems News
July 1, 2008
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Zappos tries robots on for size
CNET
June 27, 2008
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Kiva Systems CEO Mick Mountz Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® 2008 Award Winner in New England
June 26, 2008
View Press Release
Zappos.com Implements Kiva Mobile Fulfillment System in Four Months
June 24, 2008
View Press Release
IERA Award 2008 goes to Daimler and Kiva Systems
June 23, 2008
View Press Release
View all News & Events
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