About me
Ken Karklin joined decade-old startup Opener, now known as Pivotal, as its CEO in May of 2022, succeeding its founder, Marcus Leng. Over the prior 13 years, Ken served in several executive roles at AeroVironment, a 55-year-old technology company and leader in unmanned systems for defense and early pioneer in transportation electrification. He spent his last four years with AeroVironment leading the company’s operations, most recently as its Chief Operating Officer.
Prior to AeroVironment, Ken served as Vice President of Product Engineering at venture-funded start-up Touchdown Technologies which was acquired by global semiconductor test leader Advantest in a successful exit. Previously, Ken held engineering leadership roles at established technology companies Agilent Technologies, Hewlett-Packard Company, and Intel Corporation.
Before his career in tech, Ken served in the United States Army, early on as a Fire Support Specialist with assignments including the 82nd Airborne Division and the Third Armored Division. Upon graduation, Ken continued his service as an engineer officer in the US Army Reserves.
Ken earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and has since completed executive programs at both Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management and Harvard Business School. Ken is an accomplished inventor with nine US Patents to his name and is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Ken lives in Ventura County, California with his wife Heather, his wife of 27 years, and their sons, Gavin, age 15 and Gregory, age 11.
