Co-founder and President of Allegion Ventures, SVP & Chief Innovation & Design Officer

Rob is a unique tech visionary who has in-the-trench experience as an entrepreneur and a corporate investor. He’s been in your shoes and understands that it’s not enough to have a brilliant idea or create a viable concept – you have to make tech understandable to people who don’t normally think about it, and have the relationships, tenacity and talent to scale a business, go public or sell it.

Rob is president of Allegion Ventures. For Allegion, he serves as senior vice president and chief innovation and design officer. He’s been named by Inc. magazine as one of the “20 influencers who will lead the Internet of Things” and recognized by Accenture and Forbes as one of “40 IoT leaders to follow on social media.” MarkTechPost named Rob a top IoT influencer to follow in both 2018 and 2019. 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.

He has in-depth understanding of tech and how it works, but what Rob really likes to do is help businesses understand how tech can benefit real people going about their day in the real world. He currently serves on the board of directors of VergeSense and Mapped. Previously, he served as a board member for Yonomi, Idenhaus and TechPoint, as well as advisor for Land O’Lakes.

He has a wealth of industry connections, having worked in companies that specialize in security technologies, high-performance titanium and alloy materials, advanced process solutions, banking and financial services, as well as information technology. Those companies operate across sectors and markets, including industrial, consumer and residential, aerospace, government, transportation, education, medical and energy. 

Rob is married and a father of three, a champion of causes that empower kids and a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. He is a native Tar Heel and has a degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was also a Division I athlete.