Scott W. Neuman

Fate has a funny way of stepping in.

I lost a friendly wager on a Stanford Football game, and as a consequence, was forced to enroll in Computer Science 101 as an undergraduate. Despite my expectations, I loved the class and went on to become a software engineer in the Silicon Valley after graduation from Stanford. After four years as an engineer, I wanted to refine my speaking and writing skills and set sail for Harvard Law.

I credit Harvard Law with both introducing me to my wife and helping me recognize my career goals: charting the strategic direction and ensuring the operational excellence of companies looking to change the world. I credit my subsequent years consulting at McKinsey with giving me the foundational business toolkit and team management skills I needed to realize these goals.

Today, I serve as Vice President of Marketing & Operations for Oracle Utilities. I joined Oracle via their acquisition of Opower (NYSE: OPWR) which sold energy efficiency, demand response, and customer engagement solutions to highly regulated utilities. I get to apply my tripartite background in computer software, business strategy, and legal & regulatory regimes. I manage operations against our "double bottom line" measured in terms of both our financial performance and environmental impact.

At the end of the day, I believe in smart bets, not safe bets. It's that thinking that has guided my work at companies of all ages, from start-ups, through IPO, and beyond. I like to network with others who share my passion for advising brands on the right strategy and operations to change the world.

My values include: Running toward fires; Getting my hands dirty; Following through on execution; Analyzing strategic decisions; Dissenting before committing; Developing awesome teams

My specialties include: Operational management; Strategic decision-making; Sales enablement; Solution consulting; New product/geography whitespace analysis.