WHO WE ARE
Founded in 2010, Motivo was inspired by the philosophy of race car engineering teams that often work on custom cars end to end. By applying the same vertically integrated mindset to other domains of innovation engineering, Motivo pioneered the concept of agile for hardware, bringing depth and breadth to every project.
Our team has been carefully selected for extremely diverse skills, a penchant for problem solving, and world-class heart. We do not like the word “impossible.” We begin each day by challenging traditional thinking and pushing boundaries.
OUR LEADERSHIP
Praveen Penmetsa
Founder/Chairman
Praveen loves the creative energy that permeates the product engineering lifecycle, especially on seemingly "impossible" projects. His firm belief that "it's not just what we do, it's how we do it" is the drive behind Motivo. Praveen brings over two decades of hands-on experience in translating creative visions into products. Outside of Motivo, you will find him at the local race track with his vintage BMW.
Birgit Snodgrass
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Birgit brings more than 35 years of diverse financial expertise and analysis as well as a keen sense of business acumen to the Motivo team. In her free time, you can find Birgit spending time with family and friends, sipping a good glass of wine, hiking the local mountains and canyons, visiting museums, and creating art.
Manny Ochoa
Electrical Engineering Manager
Manny specializes in systems engineering, robotic automation, and software development. With a strong R&D background, he’s passionate about commercializing emerging technologies and has led teams from concept to prototype. Outside work, he stays current with tech trends, explores small towns, and enjoys coffee and culinary experimentation.
Nehal Shahin
Director of Operational Excellence
Nehal oversees Admin, IT, and Facilities with a focus on efficiency, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Drawing on 20 years of experience across eight industries, she shines at connecting dots and bridging gaps across all functions. Nehal’s pleasures include perusing podcasts, experiencing eateries, wandering the world, appreciating alliteration, and immersing herself in music.
Allen Goad
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Allen’s passion for championing growth in complex, high-performance companies has led to 25 years of experience leading high profile public and private organizations in the aerospace, defense, advanced robotics, service, and industrial markets. Allen enjoys time with his family, 4x4 off-roading, riding motorcycles, and building, driving, and racing high performance cars.
Chris Dunham
Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)
Chris helps foster the development of Motivo’s diverse product engineering teams that include managers, PhD’s, engineers, hackers, and tinkerers by drawing on over 10 years of people-focused roles. He is an avid learner, reader, and dreamer - qualities he and his wife hope to pass on to their three young boys.
Julius Klein
Mechanical Engineering Manager
Julius’ main research field was Mechanism Design, Robotics and Control Systems, as well as robotics, nonlinear control, advanced SolidWorks, CAD and CAM modeling and simulation, fabrication processes, and motor learning. Apart from designing, building and fixing stuff, he enjoys surfing, hiking, mountain biking, and skiing.
Ryan Epstein
Product Director
Ryan loves helping clients achieve results. A listener and strong communicator, he’s known for breaking down complex problems and guiding teams through ambiguity. Ryan joined Motivo after launching new business operations in Dubai and brings a decade of diverse project experience. Outside of work Ryan enjoys exploring new technologies, hiking, and spending time with his family.
Damon Pipenberg
Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Damon guides Motivo's product development teams as a senior technical advisor. He is passionate about making development of novel products possible by leveraging the latest technologies. He relishes the outdoors through mountain biking and skiing and personal projects including home audio, CNC machining, and working on an older Subaru.
Michael Konig
Chief Business Officer (CBO)
Michael brings 20 years of diverse
experience, from engineering to race car
development to fine dining management.
His focus is growing the business model
with a vigilant eye on Motivo's North Star:
client success. Outside of work, you may
find him riding motorcycles, sleuthing car
auctions, or traversing his yard at top
speed in his tractor.
Even Garcia
Fabrication Manager
Even started his career in mobility product development working on everything from custom electric bikes, to show bucks and suspension systems. His personal interests largely derive from the work he has done here and in his time off he can be found tinkering, working on cars, and fishing the coast.
Christian Dommell
Product Director
Christian has spent 15+ years helping companies innovate, from designing giant space-based solar arrays to running large R&D projects to partnering with startups at a corporate Venture Capital fund. He brings all of that experience to Motivo to ensure client success. Outside of that, he’s generally sharing his love of STEM, the outdoors, and random pop culture with his kids and the broader community.
OUR CLIENTS LOVE US
BECAUSE WE ARE...
Ridiculously Fast
Our mission is to deliver better products, faster. Motivo is vertically integrated with highly skilled designers, electrical, mechanical and software engineers, and fabricators working together in tightly knit teams under the same roof - resulting in development timelines that are often 3x faster than other product development companies.
Diversely Skilled
Our team has been carefully selected to bring extremely diverse skills to each project, allowing us to bring depth and breadth to each challenge. We brainstorm, architect, design, engineer, wire, code, print, sew, weld, machine, assemble, and test the first prototype and support the transition to full-volume production.
Constantly Creative
We don't like the word "impossible." We begin each day by challenging traditional thinking and pushing the boundaries of what's possible. We look at things differently, embracing the unconventional and bringing creativity to every single phase of the product development cycle.