Phocos AG has appointed Nihar Patel as CEO, effective immediately. Patel succeeds James Polcyn who is stepping down after serving as CEO for the past six years.
Over the past five months, Patel worked alongside Polcyn and the management team, partners and customers to gain in-depth exposure to the brand, company and culture. During this time, Patel led strategic planning for Phocos. The company's strategy includes continuation of strengthening channel partner relationships and maintaining its high-quality engineering and manufacturing standards.
"I am both excited and humbled to join Phocos at such a time," said Patel. "With strong distribution channels, coupled with a smart product ecosystem, Phocos has immense potential. I am looking forward to working with our distribution channel partners to position Phocos to meet the demands it faces today and to set us up for an even brighter future."
Patel brings over 30 years of global leadership experience in the automotive industry, an industry transformed by technologies for electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, advanced safety, connectivity and manufacturing processes. He has worked and lived in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Most recently, while at Volkswagen AG, Patel led the Volkswagen and Ford Alliance as well as the Industrial Cloud initiative.
Patel holds an MBA from Bentley University in Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Science from New York University, New York. He is also a venture partner with Chakra Growth Fund.