Rob is a founder of Shasta Ventures and a veteran of the Silicon Valley venture capital industry. He is passionate about anything with motors, including robots, satellites, and race cars. Early in his career, Rob served as an engineer in the Astro Space division of Martin Marietta, where he helped build the first A2100 satellite, a platform that is still in production today at Lockheed. Rob earned an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia. He also holds an MBA degree from the Wharton School.
Rob led Shasta’s Series A investment in Nest (acquired by Google for $3.2 billion in 2014). His current investments include Accion Systems (ion engines for in-space propulsion), Starsky (self-driving long-haul trucks), Vector (space launch vehicles), Spire Global (small satellites for tracking weather, ships, and airplanes), and Fetch Robotics (robots for warehouse logistics).