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Brightpick

Dr. Jan Zizka

Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder

Dr. Jan Zizka is the CEO and co-founder of Brightpick. A technology visionary, Jan sets Brightpick’s strategy and is closely involved in developing new robot and AI technologies. He has filed over 20 patents ranging from 3D sensing methods to mobile robotics and is a recognized expert in the field of AI, machine vision and warehouse automation.

Before co-founding Brightpick, Jan co-founded and led Photoneo, which is now one of the leading 3D machine vision companies in the world with customers such as General Motors, Volkswagen and KUKA. Jan earned a PhD in Computer Vision from Comenius University, during which he also did research on computational cameras and optics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Tomas Kovacovsky

Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder

Tomas is responsible for developing and implementing new technologies. His work is what keeps all the Brightpick robots running reliably round the clock. Prior to Brightpick, he co-founded Photoneo and co-developed its patented “Parallel Structured Light” technology as well as over 20 vision systems based on novel computational photography techniques and algorithms. Before that, he was a senior research engineer at Micro-Epsilon, a leading sensor manufacturer. Tomas is an expert in computer vision and robot orchestration software and, in 2017, was recognized in Forbes’ “30 Under 30 Europe” as one of the 30 brightest young entrepreneurs and innovators in the “Industry” segment. He earned a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Comenius University.

Dr. Michal Maly

Director of AI and Co-founder

Michal is responsible for artificial intelligence and machine learning development. He specializes in the construction of rational agents based on reinforcement learning, and has been instrumental in developing Brightpick’s industry-leading robotic picking capabilities. Prior to Brightpick, he co-founded Photoneo, where he also led the AI team, focusing on object recognition, environment mapping and robotic piece picking. Before that, he was a senior systems engineer at AT&T. Michal earned a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science from Comenius University.

Branislav Pulis

Chief Revenue Officer and Co-founder

Branislav leads the international sales team for the company. He enjoys talking with customers to better understand their operational challenges and help them find solutions for their problems. Before co-founding Brightpick, Branislav co-founded Photoneo, where he built up its international sales team and distributor network and scaled the company to become one of the leading 3D vision providers worldwide. Prior to that, he was the Head of Project Management at KBC Group and transformation advisor at T-Mobile. Branislav earned his MS in Accounting from the University of Economics in Bratislava.

James Cox

Chief Commercial Officer

James is responsible for Brightpick’s growth strategy in North America, where he focuses on customer success pre- and post-contract. He is passionate about growing the US market and is making fast inroads using his 20 years of customer engagement experience in the materials handling and supply chain industries. Before joining Brightpick, he was VP of Sales at Dematic, where he led Dematic’s sales efforts in the Northeast Region, delivering the region’s all-time highest sales in 2021. Prior to that, James was General Manager at Equipment Depot. He earned a BA in Finance from Bowling Green State University and a MBA from Xavier University.

Adrian Kratky

Chief Operating Officer

Adrian is responsible for the project management and delivery, manufacturing, customer support and day-to-day operations of the company. Before Brightpick, Adrian was Director of Robot Vision at Photoneo, where he led software development, on-site integrations and customer support. Before joining Photoneo, Adrian spent nine years at Lenovo, most recently as senior manager for incentives and commissions in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Adrian started his career at Accenture as a senior programmer. He earned a MS in Cybernetics from the Slovak University of Technology.

Ivana Zizkova

Chief Financial Officer

Ivana is the CFO of Brightpick and its parent company, Photoneo Brightpick Group. Prior to this role, she was Director of Finance and Operations at Photoneo since 2018. Before joining Photoneo, Ivana was Finance Team Lead at IBM.
She earned a MS in Economics from the University of Economics in Bratislava.

Andrey Bakholdin

Chief Growth Officer

Andrey is responsible for developing and executing Brightpick’s business development, marketing and growth strategies. Prior to this role, he was Chief of Staff at Brightpick and worked on corporate strategy, fundraising and investor relations. Before that, he was VP of Investments and Strategy at factory14, a diversified ecommerce platform, and an investment professional at Blackstone, where he invested in private and public markets across the US and Europe. Andrey started his career in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at Moelis & Company. He earned a BS in economics and econometrics from University College London.