We are pleased to issue a warm welcome to our newest Advisory Board member, Bobby Yerramilli-Rao, who has joined the Board at the invitation of our College President, Professor Lionel Tarassenko.
Bobby is Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and Corporate Vice President (CVP) for Corporate Strategy at Microsoft, where he is responsible for helping identify and deliver on the most important strategic priorities for the company. His mandate spans both existing business areas and new potential areas for Microsoft.
Prior to this role, Bobby spent nine years as co-founder and managing partner of Fusion Global Capital, a growth stage venture capital firm focused on enterprise technology. Notable investments include RingCentral and The Trade Desk, which are now both public companies. In addition, Bobby is the co-founder of two biotech companies, both in the genomics space.
Bobby was previously the Corporate Strategy Director at Vodafone, responsible for global strategy at the company, and before that, a partner at McKinsey and Company working in the Palo Alto, New Jersey and London offices on technology-related issues. He started his career as an engineer at Marconi.
Bobby holds an MA in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cambridge and a DPhil in Robotics from the Department of Engineering Science here in Oxford. He also conducted post-doctoral work on autonomous driving and traffic systems at the University of California at Berkeley.
The Advisory Board was formed to offer advice and support to the College’s Senior Management Team (President, Senior Tutor, Bursar and Vice-President) on the college’s strategic objectives and its profile beyond Oxford.
Speaking of Bobby's appointment to the Board, Lionel Tarassenko said:
"Having known Bobby since his time as a graduate student in the Department of Engineering Science, I have absolutely no doubt that, along with Lisa Reuben, Baroness Blackwood and Dr Vishal Gulati, he will be an excellent member of our Advisory Board. I am sure that we will particularly benefit from his in-depth knowledge of at least two of our research themes and exceptional experiences as a successful entrepreneur."
