SVPMA Monthly Event - Product Management: Preparation for being a CXO with Brent Lang, President and COO, Vocera July 1, 2009

Organization: SVPMA - Silicon Valley Product Management Association
Topic: Product Management: Preparation for being a CXO
Speaker: Brent Lang, President and COO, Vocera
Date: Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
Time: 6:30pm - 9pm
Location: Network Meeting Center at the TechMart - 5201 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara
Cost: Free for Members. $25 for pre-registered Non-Members. $35 at the door.
More info: http://www.svpma.org/meetings.html

Presentation:
It has often been said that being a product manager is like running your own little business. So how does working as a product manager prepare you for being the CXO of your company? This presentation and discussion will explore the ways that working as a product manager can and cannot prepare you for a role as a CXO. Brent Lang worked as a product manager for several years before rising to his current role of President and COO of Vocera. He will compare his role as COO with being a product manager and discuss some of the lessons he learned along the way, providing insights into how your current work can pay off for you in the future. Join us for this interactive session that may help prepare you to meet your future goals.

Speaker:
Brent Lang is President and Chief Operating Officer of Vocera Communications, a wireless voice communications company. Vocera Communications provides an innovative wireless communications system that enables instant voice communication between mobile workers for enhanced customer service, productivity, and teamwork. His responsibilities currently include engineering, marketing, business development, and manufacturing operations. He joined Vocera with the goal of taking a big idea and turning it into an operating enterprise, strategically positioning Vocera Communications as the leader in wireless instant voice communication.

The company serves its global customer base – including more than 500 hospitals – from its headquarters in San Jose, CA and sales offices in the United Kingdom and Australia. The company has secured more than $53 million in capital funding from Motorola Ventures, Thomas Weisel Venture Partners, Granite Global Ventures, Venrock Associates, Vanguard Venture Partners, RPE Ventures, Cisco, and the Intel Communication Fund.

Previously at Vocera, Brent was Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for more than five years. He was an early member of the Vocera team and has led the development of the company’s marketing and product strategies. He also served as acting CEO during the company’s transition to current CEO, Robert J. Zollars.

Brent has been directly involved in venture capital fund raising, company strategy and branding, and go-to-market channel strategy. Brent joined Vocera from 3Com Corporation, where he was the Senior Director of Marketing for 3Com's Digital Home Products. He managed marketing, business development, and product management for the broadband cable and DSL modems and the home networking products.

During his six years at 3Com, Brent was involved with a variety of product management and marketing roles, including co-founding the home networking division and managing the rapid growth of the Fast Ethernet network interface card business. Prior to 3Com, Brent worked as a Strategy Consultant for Monitor Company, advising Fortune 500 companies.

Brent earned his BS degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan, and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He was a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team and won a Gold Medal in the 4X100 Freestyle Relay.

Official Website: http://www.svpma.org/meetings.html