Rana Dutta - Professional Bio

As a business-savvy engineering and technology leader, I understand how to translate a company's raw intellectual property into a bankable revenue stream through product and organizational development and by establishing best-in-class business processes. Over the past 20 years, I have worked with a number of public, mature, and startup companies in healthcare, email security, postal technologies, telecomunications, and aerospace. Having worked for both small and large (up to 5000 employees), I bring a deep understanding of product development, engineering management, and program/project management skills. Throughout my past, I have worked with a number of technologies including Web 2.0, Open Source, Encryption/Cryptography, Embedded Hardware, Speech Recognition, Telephony, and global positioning systems, including working internationally with distributed, cross-functional teams in delivery of high value, high availability, and high performance solutions.

In my role I bridge the gap between business and engineering. As a part of a company’s management team, I help define and execute technology strategies, often creating unique intellectual property (IP) for the company with hands-on involvement to differentiate it from its competitors. I also serve as a customer/market intermediary, translating the needs and objectives of management into a product plan, roadmap, and execution plan for engineering. With my ability to understand and pick up new technologies rapidly, I provide engineers with a clear voice to management, allowing technical issues and trade-offs to be properly assessed to create both a unique customer experience and enviable bottom-line results. Some of my career highlights include:

• Optimizing a tough regulatory approval process to secure an annual revenue stream of $450M.
• Integrating two disparate product lines resulting in $50M incremental revenue in six months
  plus ongoing revenue streams in the following years.
• Hiring and managing a "best-in-class" software engineering development center,
  that produced 80 new patent applications over 4 years.
• Developing a state-of-the-art cryptographic payment system, that received highest accolades
  from encryption experts.

In my current role as VPE at ScramberMail, a Software as a Service (SaaS) startup in the secure, email space. Working with highly creative engineers, I led the transformation of a working prototype into a full, production-grade system. I am also serving in an advisory and consulting role for a number of early-stage startups in healthcare, green tech, brand management, and insurance industries.

Prior to ScramblerMail, I served as VP of R&D for Mailroom Technology Inc (MTI), a subsidiary of Neopost SA, the French-based and world's second largest postage mailing company. I was responsible for contribution to the annual corporate revenues of $1B through product development, agency approvals, and maintenance.

Before Neopost, I was recruited by Ascom Hasler Mailing Systems (later acquired by Neopost) as Director of Program Management. There, I led a $10M project to develop a cryptographic based indicia system to counter the hundreds of millions of dollars lost in postage fraud. The resulting Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and NSA certified cryptographic module received high praise by Postal auditors as one of the most secure systems.

In addition to my product development accomplishments, I have led a variety of product management and corporate strategy initiatives.

• Towards an initial partnership and potential acquisition, I performed technical due diligence
  of an inkjet printer company and a Computer Aided Dispatch System.
• Prepared and presented business cases for a new venture in micropayments, secure ticketing and
  high value item management.
• Managed third party relationships with addressing software and hardware companies;
  attended and presented at conferences and trade shows; and supported sales organization
  in closing $100,000+ system sales.

My academic credentials include a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut and an MS in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

My personal interests include photography, woodworking, and visiting National Parks.