Kevin joined in 2000 as the Founding Partner of Accel’s London office, and focuses on AI, enterprise software, and security. He previously spent 14 years in robotics, holding technical, commercial, and general management roles with Fanuc Robotics. Kevin was also an active member of the World Economic Forum for 10 years, where he helped develop the Technology Pioneer Program. He’s from Pennsylvania and graduated from Northwestern University and Harvard.
Get to know Kevin
What was your first job?
My first part-time job was being a bull ladle operator pouring molten steel into molds and holding furnaces in a steel foundry in my hometown. This reinforced my motivation to dedicate myself to my engineering studies at college to escape this career path. My first full-time job (after college) was then a robot development engineer at Fanuc Robotics, the world leader in industrial robotics, where I worked for the subsequent 14 years.
What’s the most impactful piece of advice you’ve received?
While working as a young engineer for the Japanese company Fanuc in the early 80's the Founder and CEO Dr Seiuemon Inaba (considered by many as the father of robotics) instilled in me the concept of "continuous incremental improvement," which I came to learn applied to not only to engineering/technology development but also to business and life issues. Rather than constantly seeking a magic wand for quick solutions to challenges, it is far more productive and effective to approach problem-solving with rigor, discipline, and precision every day to iterate and converge toward optimal solutions.
What's something people are surprised to learn about you?
I am an identical twin...so yes, there are two of me. If you ever see "me" and "I" fail to greet you, you will have likely encountered my twin.
