Robert Iannucci

Lore & Background

Robert Iannucci began his career at IBM during the era of mainframes, then co-founded Exa Corporation, where he served as Vice President of Product Marketing. In November 1995 he joined Digital Equipment Corporation as Director of the Cambridge Research Lab, and when DEC was acquired by Compaq, he became Vice President of Corporate Research. From May 2007 he led Nokia's Research Center, overseeing laboratories in Beijing, Tokyo, Palo Alto, Cambridge MA, Cambridge UK, Germany, and Finland. On the first of January 2008 he became Nokia's chief technology officer, and was the first board member not based in Finland, remaining in Palo Alto. He stepped down in September 2008. He now owns and runs the RAI Laboratory LLC. In 2012 he became Director of the Cylab Mobility Research Center at Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley.

Reader's Guide

Iannucci's career reflects a trajectory from foundational computer architecture research to high-level corporate technology strategy. His PhD thesis on a dataflow/von Neumann hybrid architecture contributed to discussions on multiprocessing and embedded systems. His leadership at Digital Equipment Corporation's Cambridge Research Lab and later as Compaq's Vice President of Corporate Research placed him at the center of industrial research during a period of consolidation. At Nokia, he headed global research laboratories and served as chief technology officer, though his tenure in that role was brief, ending in September 2008. His later directorship of the Cylab Mobility Research Center at Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley continued his involvement in mobile and embedded systems research. His amateur radio license, W6EI, and his ownership of RAI Laboratory LLC indicate ongoing engagement with technical experimentation.

Did You Know?

• He earned his PhD at MIT in 1988 with a thesis titled 'A dataflow/von Neumann hybrid architecture'.
• He was a founder and Vice President of Product Marketing at Exa Corporation.
• He became Nokia's chief technology officer on the first of January 2008 and stepped down in September 2008.
• He holds amateur radio license W6EI.