![](https://cdn.gradual.com/images/https://d92co48ro6fll.cloudfront.net/gradual/events/event-poster-default.jpg?fit=scale-down&width=1200)
The Speaker
We are honored to have Bill Portelli to speak at this event. Bill is currently Managing Director at CEO Quest, coaching CEOs of fast-growing technology companies in Silicon Valley. Bill also co-founded CollabNet (creator of Subversion/SVN) and served as CEO and Chairman for ~15 years. Before CollabNet, he was a staff operating executive at both early-stage and $B+ companies alike. And like many of us, Bill started his career as an engineer.
Other interesting facts about Bill: he was a Tech Pioneer at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and drove groundbreaking tech/business-wise system design strategies with the F-22 Program in the US Air Force.
The Talk
Expertise in technology is important to engineering leaders, but that alone won’t get us too far in our career. The ability to understand and influence product/business becomes increasingly important as we become more senior, and often gets in the way of our career progression. And yet, it’s not obvious how to bridge that gap.
During this event, Bill will share his journey from engineer to $B+ tech executive, and then co-founder & CEO. He will provide his insights/tips on how to bridge the gap between engineering and product/business, both from an engineering leader and product/business owner perspective. He will also talk about a disruptive concept - "Sales Ready Product" (as opposed to MVP), and how this strategy further empowers engineering leaders to engage and influence product/business.
If you are a hungry engineering leader wanting to expand your executive career opportunities and span of influence to lead your companies to great products and market leadership, Bill’s talk will point you to the right direction.
Agenda
• 6:00PM - 7:00PM Registration + light food & drinks
• 7:00PM - 8:00PM Bill's talk + Q&A
• 8:00PM - 8:30PM Networking
Logistics
The nearest parking garage is Ellis-O'Farrell Parking. We recommend taking BART or MUNI to the Powell St station one block from Credit Karma.
![Bill Portelli](https://sfelc-com.s3.amazonaws.com/2017-08-15-bill-portelli.jpeg)
![Bill Portelli](https://sfelc-com.s3.amazonaws.com/2017-08-15-bill-portelli.jpeg)