Robert Cohn is an independent investor and advisor to growing companies. He was a partner with Sequoia Capital for 2 years. Prior to becoming a venture capitalist, Mr. Cohn was the founder Octel Communications Corporation (manufacturer of equipment that provided voice mail to corporations and phone companies) in 1982. He was the CEO of the company until it was purchased by Lucent Technologies in 1997, when he became a Executive Vice President at Lucent Technologies. At the time of Mr. Cohn's retirement in 1999, Octel was the worldwide leader in its field with revenues of over $1 billion. Octel was highly acclaimed for its strategy, growth, culture, profitability and leading position in a very competitive market. Prior to founding Octel, Mr. Cohn held positions with McKinsey & Company and Banque Rothschild in France. He has served on various boards of public and private companies such as Trimble Navigation (GPS navigation), Electronic Arts (video games), Ashford.com (high-end online retail), Digital Domain (special effects for commercials and feature films). He is currently on the board of several private companies including Right Hemisphere (3D imaging software), Market Live (e-commerce infrastructure), Adomo (voice mail), and Blue Lithium (internet advertising). Previously, he was a member of the American Business Conference, the Council of Competitiveness, and the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he was also an industry governor in the Data and Communications sector for 5 years. Mr. Cohn served on a CEO advisory board to the Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, from 1997-2000, formed to discuss issues of management reform in the military. Mr. Cohn holds a BS degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Florida and an MBA from Stanford University.