Berkeley Technology Leadership Program

Pieter Abbeel

Professor, UC Berkeley Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS)

Pieter Abbeel is a Professor at UC Berkeley’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Department and Director of the Berkeley Robot Learning Lab and Co-Director of the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research (BAIR) Lab. He works in machine learning and robotics. In particular his research focuses on making robots learn from people (apprenticeship learning), how to make robots learn through their own trial and error (reinforcement learning), and how to speed up skill acquisition through learning-to-learn (meta-learning). His robots have learned advanced helicopter aerobatics, knot-tying, and basic assembly, for example.

Zsolt Katona

Associate Professor

Zsolt Katona is Associate Professor of Marketing at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. He is an expert in online marketing strategy and social media. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the Eotvos University in his native Hungary and a Ph.D. in marketing from INSEAD, France.

Zsolt’s research focuses on online marketing strategy, networks and social media. He studies how firms can better take advantage of new Internet technologies and how they can integrate them into their marketing mix. He has consulting experience with companies such as Autodesk, IBM, Kelora Systems, Singtel, Telkomsel, and Vodafone.

Yaniv Konchitchki

Tenured Associate Professor; Distinguished Teaching Fellow; Faculty Director, UC Berkeley Executive Education's Financial Technology (Fintech) Program; Faculty Director, Center for Financial Reporting & Management, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business

Yaniv Konchitchki is an Associate Professor and Faculty Director at the Center for Financial Reporting and Management at the Haas School of Business. He is an expert in the linkages between capital markets, finance, macroeconomy, financial & information systems technology, and financial reporting.

He earned a PhD from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business (in Business Administration), as well as holding a CPA license and a Masters in Science in Statistics from Stanford. Before receiving his PhD, he worked in the private and regulatory sectors in roles including economist and as a CPA and Senior Financial Analysis Expert at PwC. He is also a military Special Forces veteran, as a soldier and commander. His research has been published in top-tier academic and professional journals and has been invited to present at several top academic institutions, hedge funds, investment institutions, and national security intelligence forums such as the U.S. Cyber Command.

Thomas Lee

Associate Adjunct Professor, Research Scientist

Thomas Lee is an Associate Adjunct Professor and Research Scientist in the Haas Operations and Information Technology Management Group at the Haas School of Business. He teaches and conducts research on information and communication technologies to support innovation and new product development. He holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from MIT's Engineering Systems Division and B.A. and B.S. degrees in Political Science and Symbolic Systems (Artificial Intelligence) from Stanford University. He has served as a visiting scientist at the Computer Security Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a research engineer at the MITRE Corporation, and as a contractor for DynCorp-Meridian supporting the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency doing research on Internet privacy and security.

Christine Parlour

Professor of Finance, Sylvan C. Coleman Chair of Finance and Accounting, Distinguished Teaching Fellow, UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business

An expert in institutionally complex areas, such as market microstructure and banking, Prof. Parlour researches fintech, digital payments, credit markets, and finance and has served on the Nasdaq Economic Advisory Board and on the steering committee for the New Special Studies of Securities Markets. She holds a BSocSci from University of Ottawa, and an MA and PhD in Economics from Queen’s University.

Sameer B. Srivastava

Associate Professor and Harold Furst Chair in Management Philosophy and Values, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business

Sameer B. Srivastava is Associate Professor and Harold Furst Chair in Management Philosophy and Values at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and is also affiliated with UC Berkeley Sociology. His research unpacks the complex interrelationships among the culture of social groups, the cognition of individuals within these groups, and the connections that people forge within and across groups. In a prior career, Sameer was a partner at a global management consultancy (Monitor Group; now Monitor Deloitte). He holds AB, AM, MBA, and PhD degrees from Harvard University.

Matthew Stepka

Visiting Scholar/Executive in Residence UC Berkeley Haas School of Business

Matthew Stepka is a Visiting Scholar and Executive in Residence at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. In addition, he is managing partner at Machina Ventures, an investment firm focused on early stage, artificial intelligence and data science enabled companies. Previously, he served as vice president, special projects at Google, where he led and incubated strategic initiatives. Matthew has a B.S. in computer science from Case Western University and a J.D. from University of California Los Angeles School of Law.