Zinnov, a Houston-headquartered technology consulting firm, has hired Peter Kirkwood as a principal consultant in its digital practice.
Based in Boston, Kirkwood is a corporate strategist who brings more than 20 years of experience in technology, identity protection, cybersecurity, video analytics, and healthcare. He has deep expertise in tech-related strategic partnerships, alliances, and go-to-market strategies, and has supported numerous global C-suite executives on market expansion programs.
In his new role at Zinnov, Kirkwood will advise clients on modern technology strategy, including the identification of opportunities and making targeted investments.
Though companies have accelerated their digital spending in the wake of the pandemic, many are struggling to identify how much to invest, where to invest, and how to source relevant talent, according to Zinnov.
“Enterprises have been on a war footing to strengthen their positioning to successfully ride the wave of disruptions, and modern technologies are a major ammunition in their arsenal,” Praveen Bhadada, managing partner, Zinnov, said. “Peter’s experience in the emerging tech space will be critical as we work closely with our enterprise and technology customers to empower them in their post-pandemic growth journeys.”
Pari Natarajan, CEO of Zinnov, added, “The pandemic brought into sharp relief the criticality of digitally transforming enterprises at a rate as yet unseen. As we actively grow our consultant base in the US, Peter and the larger US team will be instrumental in expanding that footprint, to enable our customers to outline data-driven strategies to enter new markets and execute strategic digital transformation initiatives.”
Kirkwood previously spent 13 years at Idemia, a French multinational tech firm focusing on identity related security services, including facial recognition and other biometric identification products. Kirkwood held several leadership roles at the 15,000-person firm, including director of corporate strategy and director of competitive intelligence and strategic marketing.
Earlier in his career, worked at German medtech firm Brainlab, where he spent five years and was the primary account manager for the company’s largest region in the US.
Kirkwood has an MBA and master’s degree in information systems from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
“Zinnov’s deep expertise, knowledge, and insights in the Emerging Tech space are unparalleled, and its remarkable reputation for putting the customer at the core of every engagement was one of the biggest draws for me to join the company,” Kirkwood said. “The team prides itself on delivering deep insights focused on high-impact business and technology ROI for its customers, which I hope to continue as I work closely with Fortune 500 and enterprise customers to accelerate their portfolios in the emerging tech space.”
Founded in 2002, Zinnov offers consulting services in product engineering and digital transformation, market research and insights, revenue acceleration, mergers and acquisitions, and outsourcing. The firm has more than 400 employees across seven offices in the US, France, and India.
Zinnov last year added Chicago-based Jeff Czischke as leader for automation and New York-based Prasamit Kalita as a principal in the digital practice.