Kari Danek

General Partner, Chief Investment Officer

2023 - Current

Managing Director - Corporate Strategy

2021

As Managing Director of Corporate Strategy, I develop our strategic direction for growth and competitive advantage, lead specialized projects in support of greater corporate strategy, and create policies and processes to streamline the business. My responsibilities also include data analysis and development and monitoring of key performance metrics to inform business decisions and improvements. In addition, I am responsible for the mergers & acquisitions valuation and due diligence of target companies.

Director Validation Engineering

2018 - 2021

During my time at Life Fitness, I led several multifunction teams including Reliability Engineering, Software Quality Assurance and Analysis, Testing Labs, Engineering Field Support and Failure Analysis, Data Analytics, and Product Compliance. I acted as Intellectual Property Manager overseeing patent-related matters, including invention disclosure review, patentability assessments, project clearances, freedom to operate, and allocation of patent resources. I collaborated across functions and drove new product development through stage-gate process, owning relevant team deliverables and approving specification and gate passage. I developed and drove the risk assessment process for safety and compliance for all new product development projects. As a member of the Product Performance & Safety Committee, I evaluated field reported safety incidents to drive continuous improvement and analyze designs for proactive updates and product recalls. I directed failure analysis and corrective action validation for field issues and authored technical reports as required for internal use and external reporting, as for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). I managed the multimillion-dollar department budget with capital amortization, expenses, and resource allocation. The department included ten labs containing extensive equipment with maintenance demands and calibration schedules. I recruited and hired top talent to meet growing team needs and industry trends; mentored and coached personnel to retain talent and expand department capabilities; and managed team of 25+ direct and indirect reports.

Senior Manager - Data Analytics, Compliance, and Field Performance

2015 - 2018

In my role as Senior Manager, I led data analytics, product compliance, and engineering field performance. Product compliance is an integral function on all new product development teams, ensuring that product designs meet all government and industry standards, both required and voluntary. Engineering field performance collaborated with the customer service center to address atypical field reported failures - leading root cause investigations and creating corrective actions. My team also monitored the field performance databases to proactively identify potential issues and opportunity areas for improvement. I led creation of dashboards and key performance metrics to facilitate at-a-glance identification of trends.

Senior Staff Engineer

2013 - 2015

Managing Engineer

2008 - 2013

I was an engineering consultant at Exponent Failure Analysis Associates, Inc. in the Mechanical Engineering and Biomechanical Engineering Practices. Exponent provides engineering and scientific consulting. My areas of expertise include automatic control systems, electromechanics, and machine design. I also have expertise in biomechanics, which I have used to determine the kinetics and kinematics of human movement and the mechanisms of chronic and traumatic human injury. I apply my experience with mechanics, modeling, and sensors and actuators to evaluate machine system safety and performance. The combination of my electromechanical and biomechanical backgrounds allows me to examine machine guarding and safety with a holistic perspective that incorporates the machine and environment with human interaction and performance. I have also worked on a number of intellectual property projects. I have provided expert assistance with questions of infringement and validation both within and outside of litigation.

Graduate Student Instructor

2003 - 2008

Biological and Behavioral Basis of Human Movement (MOVESCI 110) Graduate Electromechanical System Design (ME 552) Graduate Intro to Robotics Theory & Practice (ME/EECS 567) Biomechanics of Human Movement (MOVESCI 330) Senior Mechanical Engineering Laboratory II (ME 495) Modeling, Analysis and Control of Dynamics Systems (ME 360)