Rob Martens is senior vice president and chief innovation and design officer for Allegion.

In this role, he leads Allegion’s strategic partnering, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), innovation and design efforts in support of the company’s broader innovation and growth strategy. Rob also serves as Allegion’s futurist, founder of direct-to-consumer innovation engine Pin & Tumbler Studio and president of Allegion Ventures, the company’s corporate venture capital fund.

Rob is sought frequently as a commentator, advisor and keynote speaker on emerging technology, corporate innovation and venturing. Numerous tech curators have named Rob as one of the world’s top influencers in the Internet of Things (IoT). Notable lists include: Inc. “20 influencers who will lead the Internet of Things;” Accenture and Forbes “40 IoT leaders to follow on social media;” and MarkTechPost “Top IoT influencers to follow.” Most recently, Rob was recognized by Constellation Research on its “2024 Business Transformation 150,” an elite list of resilient, skilled and successful executives leading business transformation efforts around the globe.

His industry sector experience includes industrial, consumer residential, aerospace, government, transportation, education, medical and energy. Rob joined Allegion in 2014, as futurist and director of connectivity platforms, later becoming its vice president of strategy and platforms. Prior to joining Allegion, he was corporate CIO for Carpenter Technology Corporation, as well as CIO for Ingersoll Rand’s Security Technologies Sector.

With extensive board of directors (BOD) experience, Rob currently serves on the BODs of popular startups VergeSense (San Francisco) and Mapped (Los Angeles). Previously, he served as a BOD member for Yonomi, Idenhaus and Indiana-based TechPoint, as well as an advisor for Land O’Lakes. 

Rob is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was also a Division I athlete. He holds certificates from Harvard Business School's executive programs on digital leadership and organizational transformation and M&A, as well as multiple patents related to his work in the IoT and Pin & Tumbler Studio. 

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