Brandon Leibowitz

Partner with early-stage and scaling companies to shape and execute product, business, and GTM strategies that fuel growth. Define product-market fit strategies, drive roadmap creation, and secure funding and strategic partnerships.

Partner with early-stage and scaling companies to shape and execute product, business, and GTM strategies that fuel growth.

• Define product-market fit strategies that align technical capabilities with customer demand, accelerating adoption across multiple sectors.
• Drive roadmap creation and cross-functional alignment, setting frameworks that enable teams to deliver at scale and adapt quickly t

Deliver lectures and advise on product strategy, development, and technology to students, executives, and founders.

• Mentor founders in refining product vision, value propositions, and competitive positioning to boost GTM readiness.
• Lead seminars on startups, product development, and disruptive technologies, emphasizing data-driven decision-making and entrepreneurial execution.

Spearheaded East Coast expansion of global aerospace & defense startup accelerator, venture capital, and consulting firm.

• Overhauled Starburst’s largest US accelerator, driving major program improvements that secured a multi-million-dollar contract renewal within six months.
• Sourced and mentored early-stage startups, guiding product development, business strategy, and technology execution to

Launched an AI-powered virtual tutor startup, leading product and technical strategy from concept to market-ready MVP.

• Crafted product vision, strategy, and roadmap, shaping core offerings, value propositions, and growth milestones.
• Directed technical development, managing third-party engineering teams and driving strategic collaborations with IBM and other partners.
• Delivered MVP enabling

Developed and executed strategic product roadmap through planning, market analysis, and customer-driven prioritization. Collaborated with OEM and Tier 1 customers and led a global team of 40+ engineers and scientists.

• Developed and executed strategic product roadmap through planning, market analysis, and customer-driven prioritization to ensure successful product launch and alignment with customer needs.
• Collaborated with OEM and Tier 1 customers to source and specify Proof-of-Concept projects, securing successful end-to-end completion, while nurturing and maintaining relationships with key industry custome

Designed the merger of Affectiva and Smart Eye’s Automotive Development teams into a joint Global organization. Established a new Pre-Production division and managed the former Affectiva Engineering and QA Teams.

• Designed the merger of Affectiva and Smart Eye’s Automotive Development teams into a joint Global organization.
• Established a new Pre-Production division to seamlessly bridge the gap between Research and Production, shaping concepts into products tailored to specific applications.
• Managed the former Affectiva (US/Egypt) Engineering and QA Teams.

• Established the Product Development Organization, Processes, and Strategy within 6 months, transforming Affectiva from hitting <40% of external milestones to successfully delivering >95%.
• Translated ambiguous and undefined responsibilities into actionable tasks and proactively identified new challenges and opportunities to drive company growth.
• Achieved consistently successful outcomes by e

Established the Product Development Organization, Processes, and Strategy within 6 months, transforming Affectiva from hitting <40% of external milestones to successfully delivering >95%. Translated ambiguous responsibilities into actionable tasks.

Spearheaded the company’s strategic shift to a development-centric approach, aligning the engineering process with the product roadmap to launch tangible, market-ready products.

• Spearheaded the company’s strategic shift to a development-centric approach, aligning the engineering process with the product roadmap to launch tangible, market-ready products.

Drove development of Shark’s Robotic and Cordless categories, advancing concepts from ideation to global product lines.

• Directed SharkNinja’s first simultaneous global product launch, releasing in four countries and expanding to twelve.
• Built and led the Front-End Innovation Team to drive early ideation and validation, cutting time-to-market and reducing production and logistics costs.

- Integral part in establishing Ford’s Autonomous Vehicle Program, collaborating with leadership and industry stakeholders to define the business strategy and technical framework to shape Ford’s early approach to autonomy.
- Partnered with Ford Smart Mobility to establish engineering and product specifications and bring autonomous vehicle Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) to market.
- Collaborate

Integral part in establishing Ford’s Autonomous Vehicle Program, collaborating with leadership and industry stakeholders to define business strategy and technical framework. Partnered with Ford Smart Mobility to bring autonomous vehicle TaaS to market.

Participated in a leadership development rotational program that includes Crash Safety, Body Interior Core Engineering, Vehicle Launch Program Management, Ford Performance Program Management for the Focus ST/RS, and Active Safety and Autonomous Systems.

Rotation 1: Crash Safety Development Engineer (5 Months)
- Managed the development and testing of crash countermeasures for Ford Transit Connect

Conducted research for the company’s transportation safety analysis team to understand and resolve crucial safety concerns for industry and government clients.

- Managed qualitative/quantitative analysis of consumer complaint data to predict NHTSA recalls for vehicle defects.
- Completed engineering analysis of causation factors in vehicle crashes for the BMW Accident Research Program.
- Lead

- Participated in numerous studies involving:
-> Evaluation of occupant protection and crashworthiness countermeasures
-> Evaluations of second generation and advanced airbag systems
-> Evaluations of safety technology for elderly occupants

- Member of the BMW Accident Research Program
-> Engineering analysis and studies of the causation factors of real-world vehicle crashes
-> Created and a

- Designed automotive performance parts using CAD
- Gained valuable hands-on experience working on vehicles
- Worked in the machine shop
- Wrote RENNtech press releases
- Maintained RENNtech online blog

- Analyzed automotive crash vehicle and occupant data and determined correlations between crash data and occupant injury severity to assist in development of SceneScore, a method to improve pre-hospital triage of motor-vehicle crash victims.

- Helped increase efficiency of emergency transport services to hospitals or trauma centers through program implementation.

- Specializations: Mechanics & Materials and Engineering Project Management
- Master’s Thesis: Method for Computing Motor Vehicle Crash Energy Based on Detailed Crush Data and Stiffness Values

Minor: Engineering Entrepreneurship

Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering with specializations in Mechanics & Materials and Engineering Project Management. Thesis focused on computing crash energy from crush data.

- Washington DC Cohort, Dean's Scholarship
- Specializations: Management & Strategy

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship.