SUNNYVALE, Calif.– NTT Research, Inc., a division of NTT (TYO:9432), today announced it has named Dr. Al Emondi Head of Partner Strategy. An experienced organizational and technology leader, Dr. Emondi joined NTT Research in March 2022 on a contract basis as part of its leadership advisory team, with responsibilities that include growth and research partner opportunities, strategic project and program support, partner enablement and value, and research investments. Dr. Emondi is also President and CEO of Piontier, LLC, a technology development and neurotech product line consultancy. He was previously a Program Manager for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and CTO of the U.S. Naval Information Warfare Center (NAVWAR) Atlantic. Dr. Emondi received his M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Ph.D. in neuroscience from Syracuse University.
“We’re delighted to welcome Dr. Emondi to NTT Research,” said NTT Research President and CEO Kazuhiro Gomi. “He brings a wealth of experience in strategic technology management and will play a key role as we optimize our existing partnerships and explore new areas of growth.”
While at DARPA, Dr. Emondi led the ideation, launch, team selection and management of breakthrough neurotechnology applications, growing portfolio investments by $133 million within three years and achieving five FDA approvals for Investigational Device Exemptions. As CTO of NAVWAR, Dr. Emondi defined and led its strategic research initiative to stand up an effective and credible research capability in the Atlantic region, including the organization’s first collaborative Science and Technology (S&T) Research Center. Under his leadership, research across all NAVWAR business portfolios resulted in 230 new S&T initiatives; 24 patents disclosed, filed, or issued; eight meritorious findings from the Inspector General recognizing achievements in management and leadership methodologies; and cumulative growth in S&T work of $550 million.
“With my stint at the neuroscience research bench behind me, I have spent much of my professional career building successful interdisciplinary research environments – both programs and laboratories,” said Dr. Emondi. “Motivated by creativity and driven by the challenge of identifying new technical opportunity space, I have a proven history of building successful research programs, as well as creating new technical capabilities within organizations. The opportunity to build on existing success at NTT Research is incredibly exciting.”
Since its founding in 2019, NTT Research has undertaken a wide range of joint research with academic institutions, government agencies and private research organizations, both in the U.S. and around the world. In all, the NTT Research Physics & Informatics (PHI), Cryptography & Information Security (CIS) and Medical & Health Informatics (MEI) labs have initiated more than 20 joint research agreements and industrial partnerships, which are currently overseen by the three lab directors and in-house research scientists who coordinate with external principal investigators. Dr. Emondi is also being tasked with contributing to organizational strategy and fostering a team culture that maximizes creativity and innovation.
