PEDRO RODRIGUES PT, Ph.D.

EXPERIENCE//                                      

KinaTrax, Director of Innovation

November 2022 - December 2023

As the Director of Innovation at KinaTrax, I led initiatives to optimize our existing products, explored new opportunities, and fostered an innovative culture for creative solutions. I successfully identified ways to operationalize strategic plans, pitched team projects and ideas, and effectively managed projects. Over the past year, I've expanded the innovation team from 1 to 6 members, contributing significantly to the company's overall growth of close to 50%.  Additionally, I was a critical contributor to the organization's operational demands and helped manage finance, HR, benefits, contracts, and general operational needs.

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New Balance Athletics, Sports Research Manager

August 2008 – November 2022 | Lawrence, MA

I co-founded the NB Sports Research Labs in Lawrence (2008) and Brighton (2022). There, I was fortunate to lead a highly skilled research team that was service-oriented in 2008 and matured into an innovation leader within New Balance in 2022. Today, we are regarded as an innovation catalyst by cross-functional product creation teams and tasked with uncovering white space, new product solutions, and shaping NB’s innovation strategy.

 

• Athlete Insights (Ux): Interviewed, interpreted & filtered feedback from Professional level athletes down to everyday consumers; communicated clear insights about evolving consumer needs to inform next-gen products

 

• Concept Creation:  Spearheaded organizational effort to implement MVP (minimally viable prototype) approach; established resource-efficient workflows leveraging in-house experts, surplus materials, and prototyping tools to “hack together” initial concepts for assessing viability and communicating design intent

 

• Research & Evaluation: Managed research projects using applied qualitative & quantitative research methodologies and testing equipment to evaluate concept functionality; benchmarking against competitor products; developing new research tools & techniques whenever necessary to extract actionable insights that inform product direction

 

• Resonance Testing: Engaged consumers via product testing groups & online survey tools to assess interest in product concepts never-before-seen in the market; consolidated feedback and assets to effectively communicate compelling product stories to make sell-in stronger to both internal & external audiences

 

• Innovation Strategy:  Collaborated with Design, Engineering & Marketing teams to align innovation plans, schedules, and envision future product directions; communicated with the legal team for patent assessment and to identify innovation whitespace

                                                                                                    

Physical Therapist, Sports Medicine

Jul.2006 – Aug.2008 | Northampton PT – Northampton, MA

Oct.2003 – Apr.2005 | Sacred Heart Medical – Eugene, OR

Jun.2001 – Sep.2003 | Physiotherapy Associates – Watertown, CT

Utilized a multifaceted approach to improve patient outcomes in sports medicine settings.  Applied evidence-based treatments that drew from sports medicine, biomechanics, manual therapy, exercise science and psychology to drive successful patient outcomes.  

 

 

PASSION & FOCUS//                             

Applying knowledge in human performance, physical therapy, Ux, biomechanics, and research to identify, create and promote performance-based products.  Developing groundbreaking sports and health technologies that push the boundaries of human performance and validated both in the lab and with the consumer. I am eager to apply my unique skillset and passion to influence a broader portfolio of innovative products.  I’m seeking a collaborative team culture that strives to deliver authentic product experiences that are ahead of the market curve.

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EDUCATION//                                        

University of Massachusetts, Ph.D. Kinesiology (Biomechanics)

September 2005 – May.2011 | Amherst, MA

Ph.D. research project focused on re-defining excessive pronation and its influence on overuse injuries in runner.  This work has led to five research publications in top biomechanics journals. 

                                                              

University of Connecticut, MS Physical Therapy

Sep.1996 – May.2001 | Storrs, CT

Completed masters degree in physical therapy and completed internships at Steadman Hawkins Clinic (Vail,CO) and HealthSouth (Birmingham, AL), two well know, research focused sports medicine clinics.

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SKILLS //                                               

Prototyping:  Laser/NC Cutters, Heat Press, Digital Print/Sublimation, etc. 

 

Material Testing Equipment:  INSTRON/MTS systems, SATRA, Taber, etc.  Creation of non-standard test methods

 

Data/Visualization Tools: Qualtrics, Survey Monkey, Adobe Ai/Ps

 

Programming: Matlab (Proficient), R

 

Language: Portuguese