Bio


Robert Siegel is a Lecturer in Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he has taught eight different courses: Systems Leadership; The Industrialist’s Dilemma; Financial Management for Entrepreneurs; Strategies of Effective Product Management; Corporations, Finance and Governance in the Global Economy; Business and Government; Formation of New Ventures; and Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation. He has led primary research and written cases on Google, Charles Schwab, Daimler, AB InBev, Box, Stripe, Roblox, Target, AngelList, 23andMe, C3.ai, Majid Al Futtaim, Softbank, Tableau, PayPal, Medium, Autodesk, Minted, Zuora, Axel Springer and Michelin, amongst others.

Robert received the Case Centre Award in the Entrepreneurship Category for co-authoring AB InBev: Brewing an Innovation Strategy (2019), the Case Centre Award in the Entrepreneurship Category Winner for co-authoring Axel Springer in 2014: Strategic Leadership of the Digital Media Transformation (2017), and he was the recipient of the MBA Class of 1973 Lecturer award for the 2016-2017 academic year.

He is also a Venture Partner at Piva Capital and a General Partner at XSeed Capital. He sits on the Board of Directors of Luum, Avochato, and Findmine and he led investments in Sparta Science, Zooz (acquired by PayU of Naspers - NPN), Hive, Lex Machina (acquired by LexisNexis of the RELX Group – RELX), CirroSecure (acquired by Palo Alto Networks - PANW), The League (acquired by Match Group), Trove, Teapot (acquired by Stripe), Brewbird, Pixlee and SIPX (acquired by ProQuest).

Robert is a Member of the Supervisory Board of HERE Technologies, and has been a member of the company’s Industry Advisory Board since 2017. He is on the Supervisory Board of TTTech Auto AG and is Chairman of the Strategic Advisory Board for TTTech Computertechnik AG in Vienna, Austria. He is a Member of the Industry Advisory Board for Tulco, and was on the Board of SmartDrive Systems (acquired by Omnitracs) for over 14 years. He is the Co-President Emeritus of Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, an alumni association that fosters relationships to strengthen the Stanford startup community, and has co-authored several articles for the Harvard Business Review and California Management Review. He is a frequent contributor to Fortune, TechCrunch, VentureBeat and Forbes.

Robert previously was General Manager of the Video and Software Solutions division for GE Security, with annual revenues of $350 million. Robert was Executive Vice President of Pixim, Inc., a fabless semiconductor firm specializing in image sensors and processors (acquired by Sony). Before Pixim, Robert was Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Weave Innovations Inc. (acquired by Kodak), a network services developer that invented the world’s first digital picture frame, and delivered photos and other digital media to PCs and internet / mobile devices.

Robert served in various management roles at Intel Corporation, including an executive position on their Corporate Business Development team, in which he invested capital in startups that were strategically aligned with Intel’s vision.

Robert is the author of The Brains and Brawn Company, served as lead researcher for Andy Grove’s best-selling book, Only the Paranoid Survive, and he is the co-inventor of four patents.

Robert holds a BA from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford University. He is married with three grown children.

Academic Appointments


  • Lecturer, Graduate School of Business

Honors & Awards


  • Case Centre Award Entrepreneurship Category Winner - AB InBev: Brewing an Innovation Strategy, Case Centre (2019)
  • Entrepreneurship Category - Axel Springer: Strategic Leadership of the Digital Media Transformation, Case Centre (2017)
  • MBA Class of 1973 Lecturer, Stanford Graduate School of Business (2016-2017)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations


  • Member of the Supervisory Board, HERE Technologies (2023 - Present)
  • Member of the Supervisory Board, TTTech Auto AG (2018 - Present)
  • Member of the Board of Directors, LUUM (2017 - Present)
  • Member of the Board of Directors, Avochato (2016 - Present)
  • Member of the Advisory Board, Tulco (2017 - Present)
  • Chairman, Strategic Advisory Board, TTTech Computertechnik AG (2012 - Present)

Professional Education


  • MBA, Stanford University, Business (1994)
  • BA, University of California, Berkeley, Political Science (1989)

Patents


  • Robert Siegel. "United States Patent 8,984,419 Digital Media Frame", Mar 1, 2007
  • Robert Siegel. "United States Patent 7,155,679 Digital Media Frame", Dec 26, 2006
  • Robert Siegel. "United States Patent 6,535,228 Method and system for sharing images using a digital media frame", Mar 18, 2003
  • Robert Siegel. "United StatesMethod and system for interfacing with a digital media frame network", 6,509,910, Jan 21, 2003

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


Robert Siegel researches strategy and innovation in both large and small companies, as well as the opportunities and challenges that technological change brings to these firms. Additionally, Robert teaches product management and product development best practices and methods, as well as entrepreneurial finance over the life-cycle of growing companies.

2024-25 Courses


All Publications


  • The Problem with Legacy Ecosystems HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW Wessel, M., Levie, A., Siegel, R. 2016; 91 (11): 68-?
  • Defining the minimum winning game in high-technology ventures CALIFORNIA MANAGEMENT REVIEW Burgelman, R. A., Siegel, R. E. 2007; 49 (3): 6-?