Together, We Define.

Ken Haven
Founder / Chairman

Ken Haven is Founder and Chairman of Acorn Product Development. He has been CEO of Acorn Product Development since the company’s founding in 1993. Ken has more than 40 years of product development experience including technical leadership roles with NeXT Computer, Attain, Inc., and Hewlett-Packard. He holds MS and BS degrees in mechanical engineering from Cornell University.

Tim Lau
Founder / CTO Emeritus

Tim Lau co-founded Acorn with Ken and is Acorn’s CTO Emeritus. Tim has 40+ years product development experience in technology product development, and manufacturing liaison roles for NeXT Computer, Wyse Technology, and Plantronics. Tim holds a BS in mechanial engineering from University of Rochester and an MS in mechanical engineering from University of California, Berkeley.

Tom Dutremble
CEO

Tom is CEO of Acorn Product Development. He specializes in mechanism design, structural analysis and vibration analysis. With over 10 years of experience in high volume manufacturing design, Tom has a deep understanding of intersection of industrial automation and design for manufacturability. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, a MS in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University and an MBA from Boston University.

Benjamin Chia
Partner / CDO

Benjamin Chia is Partner and Chief Design Officer of Acorn Product Development. Benjamin is an experienced multidisciplinary design leader capable in all phases of the design process. As leader of the design team, he directs the creative staff and develops new business potentials. Benjamin's design has been recognized by IDEA, CES, Good Design, MDEA, and Sparks. Since 2000, he has been teaching design at Stanford University, Academy of Art University, San Francisco State University, and San Jose State University.

Alex Holton
Senior Mechanical Engineer

Alex is a mechanical engineer and project manager in our Denver Design Center. He has a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the University at Buffalo and 6 years of engineering and product design experience. Alex has worked on all phases of the product development cycle in numerous markets including medical, consumer, robotics, industrial, and IoT. His specialties include design for manufacturing of plastic parts and sheet metal. Outside of work, Alex hones his engineering skills with personal projects and enjoys spending time outside golfing, skiing, and boating.

Andrea Condon
Business Development Manager, East

Andrea leads the business development efforts in the Eastern United States. Her responsibilities include identifying new project opportunities, cultivating partner and client relationships, and executing on marketing initiatives. With over 10 years’ experience in client services and business development, Andrea works closely with her teammates to understand the challenges clients face and provide solutions that best meet their needs. Andrea holds a BS in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Master’s degree in Management from Harvard University Extension School.

Anthony Bonvino
Business Development Manager, West

Anthony is an energetic Business Development Manager, who brings a unique blend of expertise to the Acorn team. With a background in both business development and biomedical engineering, Anthony provides a unique understanding essential to cultivating partner and client relationships. His strategic mindset and ability to navigate the intersection of business and technology make him an invaluable asset. Outside of the office, his energetic determination extends onto the tennis court where in Spring 2023 he remained undefeated in the USTA Men's Tennis 18 & Over 4.0 Division.

Arnold Edwards
Principal Mechanical Engineer

Arnold is a principal mechanical engineer and project manager in our Boston Design Center. He brings 20 years of engineering expertise with prior work in consumer electronics, food & beverage, automation, robotics, and medical devices. Arnold is an expert at electronics packaging and mechanism design and can lead multidisciplinary teams through all phases of the product development cycle. In his free time, Arnold is an avid runner and bicycle enthusiast who is always in search of the next bike to fix up.

Axel Soriano
Senior Designer

Axel is a multidisciplinary designer with experience in industrial design, user experience, and user interface. As senior designer he is heavily involved working with the design and engineering team to help guide the design process. Axel is also involved with guiding client communications to reach project goals. Axel has a passion for connecting humanistic and empathic designs to the user. He has infused this passion throughout various consumer, medical, IoT, and UI/UX projects within Acorn.

Brian Lewis
General Manager, West

Brian Lewis leads the engineering team in our Silicon Valley Design Center. He brings over 20 years of experience focused on the healthcare and life science industries. Brian has extensive experience with life science instrumentation and consumables and has taken complex software controlled devices through multiple clinical trials. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University, and has been awarded 15 patents throughout his career. In his free time, you can find Brian working on one of his vintage cars or riding mountain bikes.

Caleb Gale
Senior Electrical Engineer

Caleb is a senior electrical engineer and project manager with 10 years of experience in designing products for commercial, industrial, and enterprise applications. He holds a degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University and is highly skilled at embedded HW/SW development. Outside of work you can find Caleb spending time outside, riding his mountain bike or skiing the Vermont slopes.

Crsytal Avila
Administrative Assistant

Crystal is an administrative assistant in our Silicon Valley Design Center.  She is a jack of all trades who helps with all things business operations. She holds a medical administrative degree from Ohlone College and is a certified notary.  In her free time, Crystal likes to bake and decorate beautiful cakes and helps run the multiple family businesses.

David Preston
Mechanical Engineer

David is a mechanical engineer in our Silicon Valley Design Center. He holds a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from UCLA where he spent time as a development engineer working on laser optics and mechanical testing of materials. David also has experience designing equipment for the semiconductor industry. Outside of work, he enjoys reading, collecting houseplants, and spending time outside hiking, biking, or snowboarding.

Denny Min
Mechanical Engineer

Denny is a mechanical engineer in our Silicon Valley Design Center. He joined Acorn from the medical device industry where he designed and tested orthopedic surgical tables. He has experience with FEA and failure mode analysis and enjoys collaborating with cross functional teams to turn concepts into working prototypes. Denny holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley. Outside of work, he enjoys shooting film photography which he develops at home.

Donna Liao
VP of Design / Principal Designer

Donna Liao is Vice President of Design and Principal Designer. Being a leader of innovation and creativity, she is specialized in producing beautiful, meaningful, and realizable designs for clients of all sizes. Prior to Acorn, Donna was a principal designer at Acorn/Elemental8, and senior industrial design lead at Mitac and Tatung, where she was responsible for designing a wide variety of high tech consumer, enterprise, and military products.

Guclu Yardimci
Senior Mechanical Engineer

Guclu Yardimci is a Mechanical Engineer at our Boston Design Center. Before joining Acorn, he honed his skills by designing industrial food processing machines and packaging machine parts. He has extensive experience creating high-quality products while maximizing production efficiencies. Guclu holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and went on to Brown University to get his master's in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship science. Outside of the office, he enjoys traveling, attending sports tournaments, and playing video games.

Jacob McMullen
Designer

Jacob is a multidisciplinary designer with experience in industrial design, UX/UI, and model making. He received his Industrial Design degree from San Jose State University, where he won an IDEA award for a furniture piece he designed as a student. While at Acorn, he has had a hand in various consumer, medical, robotics, and UI/UX projects. Jacob hones his creativity outside of work by building furniture and woodworking.

Jeff Weeks
General Manager, East

Jeff Weeks leads the engineering team in our Boston Design Center. With over 11 years’ experience delivering complex products and technologies to market, he is adept at all stages of development from product definition to volume production. Jeff is highly experienced managing global teams to deliver high quality products and user experiences. Since graduating with a BS from Northeastern University his experience has spanned consumer products, scientific instrumentation, defense systems and industrial automation.

Michael Earle
Mechanical Engineer

Michael is a mechanical engineer in our Boston Design Center. He has worked on a variety of projects in the medical device, robotics, and automotive industries. Michael has experience designing complex assemblies and performing detailed structural and thermal analyses. He has a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. Outside of work Michael enjoys sailing, playing ice hockey, and working on his car and motorcycle.

Mike Cronin
Senior Designer

Mike is a multidisciplinary designer in our Boston Design Center. He has experience working on products in industries including automotive, medical, toys, sporting goods, and consumer devices. Mike enjoys concept development and bringing ideas to life through sketching, CAD, and rapid prototyping. He holds a degree in Industrial Design from Wentworth Institute of Technology. Outside of work, Mike enjoys staying active in the gym and is currently training for a half marathon.

Minxiang Liu
General Manager of Acorn Asia Group

Minxiang Liu leads the engineering team in our China Design Center. He has more than 20 years of product design and development experience and five years of teaching experience at the college level. He holds a MS degree in mechanical engineering from Northern Illinois University and BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Shanghai University.

Natasa Petrova
Financial Controller

Natasa has had a dynamic career in the accounting and audit field in an international environment. As a financial controller, Natasa leads the accounting team at Acorn and works on financial initiatives across all centers in the US and internationally. She holds Masters in Audit and is a fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Ramnik Singh
Director of People Operations

As Director of People Operations, Ramnik has been leading HR and operations for all Acorn US Offices in her 14+ years with the company. She is a member of the executive team, and works on achieving strategic business objectives in areas of Organization Design, Succession and Workforce Planning, Talent and Performance Management and Business Process Improvements. She holds a BS in Computer Science and MS in Operations Research.

Tomas Kerikas
Mechanical Engineer

Tomas Kerikas is a Mechanical Engineer at our Boston Design Center. Before joining Acorn he thrived in a number of startups, and worked extensively on underwater and underground robots, for both military and commercial applications. He enjoys taking concepts from a sketch to a physical prototype and beyond. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University. Outside of the office, Tomas can be found hiking, rock climbing, or celebrating his Lithuanian heritage.