BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EnChroma, Inc. – the leader in solutions for color blindness – today announced that corporate leader Peter Cuneo, and G. Nagesh Rao, a former Chief Technologist for the US Small Business Administration’s SBIR program and an Eisenhower Fellow, have joined its Board of Directors. Cuneo is known for helping to guide Marvel Entertainment, first as CEO then as Vice Chairman, to its eventual sale to Disney for $4.5 billion, and for steering Remington Products Company back from the brink of bankruptcy. He recently created a special purpose acquisition company that merged with British electric-vehicle startup Arrival – for a combined valuation estimate of $5.4 billion.
“I have had the privilege to lead a number of companies with impactful products in my career, but EnChroma’s pioneering solutions for color blindness present a particularly unique opportunity to help people more fully experience life,” said Cuneo. “I look forward to applying my experience to help EnChroma grow while enhancing the lives of the 350 million people in the world with color vision deficiency.”
Rao brings 20 years of experience in the public, private, and NGO sectors helping to develop key national programmatic initiatives such as i6 Green, Patents for Humanity, SBA’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, and USAID’s SBAR Program. He also has done extensive work for international based SMEs and MNCs around IP Portfolio development and emerging technology R&D solutions in the EdTech and textile manufacturing industries.
“I am honored to join a visionary and cutting-edge team that is revolutionizing the way we perceive and interact with the colors around us,” said Rao. “The promise and purpose of EnChroma to afford access to color for all inspires me to help the company achieve its potential for the benefit of humanity.”
“The fact that accomplished leaders like Peter and Nagesh are willing to lend their time and expertise to guide our company is a testament to the power of EnChroma’s mission to bring a world of color to the color blind,” said Erik Ritchie, EnChroma CEO. “I am confident that their valuable insights into business strategy, company culture, and technology will enhance our ability to execute as we continue to expand globally.”
EnChroma also announced that Bob Dykes has been elected Executive Chairman of its Board. Dykes has nearly 40 years of experience in Silicon Valley and currently serves as Executive Chairman of CloudVector and on the advisory board of Bitfury.
EnChroma is the leader in eyewear for color blindness. The EnChroma Cx line of glasses help those with color vision deficiency see colors more vibrantly, clearly and distinctly. EnChroma recently unveiled EnChroma® Lx Lens Technology, a new series of lenses and eyewear designed for low vision and people 50+ with glare sensitivity. The glasses are specially engineered to support functional vision by reducing the disabling effects of glare while improving contrast and enhancing color vision over multiple lighting conditions. EnChroma Lx and Cx glasses are available at enchroma.com and through EnChroma Authorized Retailers worldwide.
Photos of Peter Cuneo, G. Nagesh Rao and Bob Dykes can be downloaded by clicking here. Their full bios can be found below.
About Bob Dykes
Bob Dykes is currently the Executive Chairman of Enchroma, Executive Chairman of CloudVector, and a member of the advisory board of Bitfury. He has been an executive in Silicon Valley since 1983, holding CEO, President, CFO and COO positions at companies including Symantec, Flex, Juniper Networks, Verifone, NebuAd, Tangerine, Adept Technologies and CloudVector, and board positions with Trust Company of America. He holds a BCA from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
About F. Peter Cuneo
Peter is a recognized leader in business turnarounds. He has completed seven turnarounds of distressed branded businesses in the global media and consumer products sectors. From 1999 to 2009, Peter played a lead role in the turnaround of Marvel Entertainment Inc. As President and CEO, he led Marvel, post-bankruptcy, to a prominent position in the entertainment industry. He then served as Vice Chairman of the Board, providing active strategic leadership as Marvel continued to grow into one of the world’s leading entertainment brands. This culminated in its $4.5 billion sale to Disney at the end of 2009.
Previously, Peter was President and CEO of Remington Products Company. He joined the company as it was near bankruptcy and, in less than four years, executed a successful turnaround and facilitated its sale to private equity investors. Peter has also served as President of the Security Hardware Group of the Black & Decker Corporation, President of Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Group in Canada, and President of the Clairol Personal Care Division. At present, Peter is Chairman for Iconix Brand Group. He served as interim CEO for eight months in 2016 and again in 2018.
Peter is currently the Managing Principal of Cuneo & Company, LLC, a private investment and management company focused on making investments in private companies within the consumer, media and entertainment oriented industries. He is Chairman of BeyondView Inc., which is developing virtual reality solutions for global industries. Peter received his MBA from Harvard Business School. He holds a B.S. in Glass Science from Alfred University.
About G. Nagesh Rao
G. Nagesh Rao has worked in the public, private, and NGO sectors for over 20 years. He is a highly regarded Strategist and CivicTech leader, having co-led the creation of programmatic efforts such as i6 Green, Patents for Humanity, SBA’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, and USAID’s-SBAR Program. Nagesh previously served on the US Small Business Administration's COVID-19 Leadership response team leading the technical direction of PPP and EIDL efforts as part of the historic CARES Act implementation.
Nagesh has curated IP-Portfolios and growth strategies for a number of organizations and currently serves as a Technical and Venture Advisor to Ruvna and MAS Holdings. He is a 2004 Mirzayan Fellow of The National Academies and a 2016 USA Eisenhower Fellow. He earned a BSc from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a MSc from Albany Law School-Union University, and his MBA from the University of Maryland-College Park.
About EnChroma
Based in Berkeley, Calif., EnChroma is the leader in color vision solutions, developing cutting-edge lens technology and eyewear for color blindness, low vision, and other eye conditions. Established in 2010 by a Ph.D. glass scientist and a mathematician, EnChroma’s revolutionary patented eyewear combines the latest in color perception neuroscience and lens innovation to improve the lives of people around the world. EnChroma received an SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and earned the 2016 Tibbetts Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration in recognition of the firm’s innovative impact on the human experience through technology. For more information call +1-510-497-0048 or visit EnChroma.com.
