Smart home startup hires former 'Apple Car' chief, operations exec to foster Apple culture...

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Two former Apple executives, including one that oversaw the company's self-driving car project, have joined a smart home startup focused on robotic home furnishings.

Credit: Bumblebee Spaces
Credit: Bumblebee Spaces


The San Francisco-based startup, Bumblebee Spaces, appointed Steve Zadesky as a board member and has hired Nick Forlenza as a strategic adviser, according to a Bloomberg report.

Zadesky spent more than 20 years at Apple and oversaw engineering projects related to several iPod and iPhone models. In 2014, he was put in charge of the Project Titan, or "Apple Car," endeavor. He stepped away from an active role at Apple in 2016, citing personal reasons.

Forlenza left Apple earlier in 2020. The long-term Apple executive served as a vice president of manufacturing design in the Cupertino tech giant's operations division.

At Bumblebee Spaces, Zadesky will advise on product development and marketing strategy while Forlenza advise on operations strategy.

Both former Apple executives will join another alumnus from the company, Rico Zorkendorfer. Zorkendorfer was a former member of Jony Ive's industrial design team and is now working at Bumblebee Spaces as its lead design adviser.

Bumblebee Spaces CEO Sankarshan Murthy told Bloomberg that he's trying to mimic Apple's product development process through the high-profile hires.

"The soul of Apple has been three groups, product design, industrial design, and manufacturing design, all working in unison to build the best products possible, and at Bumblebee, we're proud to have that core group of leaders building the teams," Sankarshan said.

The smart home startup uses robotic actuators and other technologies to store beds, desks, and other home furnishings in a room's ceiling in order to save space.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Bumblebee Spaces CEO Sankarshan Murthy told Bloomberg that he's trying to mimic Apple's product development process through the high-profile hires.


    There is the possibility that what your company does means your incompatible with being ‘Apple-like’. Doesn’t mean your company is shit, it just means your company isn’t Apple and your customers aren’t Apple customers. 






    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 5
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    I notice the comments have disappeared for the Head of Diversity story. Did someone get a bit racist?
    mobirdBeatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 5
    mobirdmobird Posts: 753member
    Rayz2016 said:
    I notice the comments have disappeared for the Head of Diversity story. Did someone get a bit racist?
    TOUCHE

    I have felt like doing this exact thing many times.
    I also am thinking about changing my user name to DNF-
    Discussion Not Found
    #DNF
    I say that around 50% of the subjects are now labeled as Discussion Not Found. Why are we even here anymore?
    Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 5
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Rayz2016 said:
    I notice the comments have disappeared for the Head of Diversity story. Did someone get a bit racist?

    Or someone stated the obvious that it's a waste of money. Just hire the best people who cares if they're white?
  • Reply 5 of 5
    mobird said:
    Why are we even here anymore?
    No idea. It used to be a vibrant place, with many knowledgable people posting all kinds of interesting stuff. Each article got hundreds of posts. Now take a look at the numbers...one has to wonder why this site is still up.

    mobird
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