Benjamin A. Rolfe
Ben has a long history of technical leadership and product development experience spanning many technologies and industries. He has been successful in bringing products from concept to reality and has been involved in all aspects of creating successful organizations and innovative products. His most recent focus has been wireless communications and energy-related technologies. Ben continues to be a significant contributor to developing successful, widely used standards. Ben is active in the regulatory process in the US and internationally, both applying existing regulations to real products and influencing regulatory changes enable technologies to move forward. Ben pursues a passion for disruptive technologies which raise people’s expectations and open new possibilities.
Ben is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer for the Ultra-Wideband Alliance.
Ben is currently acting in IEEE LMSC (producer of the 802 family of standards) as an officer in the 802.15 Working Group, the 802.19 working group, and the 802.24 Vertical Applications Technical Advisory Group. Ben is active also in the 802.18 Regulator Technical Advisory Group. Previously, Ben represented Blind Creek Associates in the Telecommunications Industry Association with a focus on smart grid and Internet of Things standards, and in the regulatory and policy working group. Ben is also active on behave of BCA clients in industry alliances creating validation and certification processes and specifications for standards-based interoperable products in smart energy and smart city verticals.
Ben is as comfortable with people as he is with technology, as effective a technical contributor and implementer as he is a leader. Ben takes a pragmatic approach to all things, with strong skills in strategic planning and project execution. He is a "hands-on" guy with a passion for making things work. His approach to problems reflects an open-minded commitment to finding the right solution for the situation.
Prior to founding Blind Creek Associates, Ben served in technical and management positions in multiple industries including wireless, telecommunications, consumer products, medical imaging, and aerospace. He has experience with system architecture, design, and implementation from the level of integrated circuits to large scale systems, where he introduced innovative approaches to both technology and the development process. In the consulting practice, Ben has been involved in the early stages of several client companies turning a concept into the cohesive vision and engineering capability needed to turn technology into products. He will take on whatever role is needed, being as comfortable with hardware and code as he is with power point. He co-founded several companies, served in interim leadership roles for several other start-ups, and served on the technical advisory board of a venture funding firm.