Resume / CV

Download in Word, PDF, or text format

Robert Clark Laidlaw

New Venture Developer

I have the mindset of a corporate strategist and an exceptional aptitude for translating complexity into simplicity.  I bring decades of Silicon Valley design innovation and insights to the needs of developing early-stage business ventures.  I’m equally adept at managing creative teams and working independently.  I do my best work when faced with a fresh, open challenge and the latitude to develop an innovative response.

Relevant work experience:

• Business coach for early-stage ventures

• Self-taught web designer for the Squarespace and Shopify platforms

• Sales training & tools designer for leading Silicon Valley firms

• Global sales training manager for Palm Computing

• Sales training designer for Apple Computer

• Founder of bespoke computer skills training company for executive clients.

Work Experience

Robert Laidlaw & Associates
Philadelphia, PA • San Diego, CA • Barcelona, Spain • Durham, NC

Customized web design on the Squarespace and Shopify platforms.

Enterprise and retail sales training development for leading Silicon Valley technology clients.

Web Designer
2012 - present

Website design from concept to completion including user experience, work flow and content.

Key accomplishments:

• Pala International — Redesign primary websites
  Top-to-bottom redesign of Palagems.com and Palaminerals.com using an innovative dual-hosted solution: Squarespace for the landing pages, newsletters, and library articles plus an update of traditional HTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL code for the ecommerce functionality. Final design incorporated extensive CSS customization on both hosts. Recently converted Palagems' ecommerce functions to Shopify.
  READ MORE >>

• Marc Chabot Fine Arts — Redesign website
  Top-to-bottom redesign of print dealer's website hosted by Shopify.
  READ MORE >>

• Final Farewell — Redesign website
  Top-to-bottom redesign of funeral charity's website hosted by Squarespace.
  READ MORE >>

Senior Instructional Designer
2001 - 2012

Cinematic-style presentations, leader-led and web-based training, sales training, sales tools, sales demos, competitive analysis, product launch videos, on-device help systems, and point-of-sale animations.

Key accomplishments:

• Cisco — umi Telepresence Sales Training
  Designed all launch materials for the ūmi telepresence HD video conferencing system including a critical sales training event for BestBuy’s Magnolia store managers.
  READ MORE >>

• Hewlett-Packard — webOS B2B Sales & Technical Training
  Designed all enterprise sales presentations, training, and tools for webOS, including a comprehensive technical implementation guide for IT managers.
  READ MORE >>

• Palm — Treo 800 On-Device Tutorial
  Redesigned the Treo 800 smartphone on-device tutorial for clarity and simplicity. The design won an international award from the Society for Technical Communication.
  READ MORE >>

• Palm — QuickTrain Sales Slicks
  Created an innovative sales training sheet that taught how to present and demo Palm smartphones. This design became standard product collateral for all devices.
  READ MORE >>

• • •

Palm Computing
Sunnyvale, California

Global mobile technology innovation leader for handhelds and smartphones.

Global Sales Training Manager
1997 - 2001

Formed and managed a design team that supported sales, sales engineering, and business development teams within Palm, OEM partners, enterprise solution partners, and channel partners in the USA, EMEA, and Asia/Pacific markets.

Key accomplishments

• TCP/IP “Tent” Diagram
  Created a conceptual diagram that communicated at a glance how Palm OS devices fit into enterprise computing environments via their built-in TCP/IP connectivity.
  READ MORE >>

• Under The Hood
  In-depth conceptual presentation legitimized Palm OS with IT professionals and the press. Enterprise and OEM partners incorporated key ideas into their marketing and sales efforts.
  READ MORE >>

• Tungsten W On-Device, Point-of-Sale Animation
  On-device point-of-sale animation, designed with a cinematic development process, that communicated the enterprise advantages of the Tungsten W smartphone to retail buyers.
  READ MORE >>

• Palm OS End-User Training
  Wrote first-ever Palm OS end-user training that supported enterprise sales, opened new markets for OEM partners, and established the global market for Palm OS device training.
  READ MORE >>

• • •

Apple Computer
Cupertino, California

Global technology leader for leading-edge personal computing solutions and services.

Instructional Designer
1994 - 1997

Designed multimedia sales training and print-based sales tools while managing outside vendors producing multimedia, video, and print sales training for retail and enterprise audiences.  Success required initiating and maintaining working relationships with technical, sales, and marketing teams across the company.

Key accomplishments:

• Color LaserWriter Technical Sales Training
  Under extreme time pressure and limited resources, developed technical sales training on the first Color LaserWriter that helped close the year’s largest enterprise sale.

• Apple Product Multimedia CD
  Led development of the acclaimed, multimedia Apple Products CD that taught how to sell products in a style and format that channel retail sales people could use with customers.

• Product Launch Sales Training Videos
  Wrote, directed and edited well-received sales training videos to support the launches of Mac OS 7.6, Mac OS 8, QuickTime 2.5, and other core Apple technologies.

• Learn & Earn
  Design team member for Learn & Earn, an innovative program that enabled channel sales reps to earn free Apple products in exchange for acquiring sales training and sales tools.

• • •

Cadre
San Francisco, California

Custom computer skills training design and delivery to executives and key individuals.

Co-founder & President
1993 - 1994

Identified and pursued a niche in the computer skills market by designing a blend of innovative courseware, templates, macros, and teaching style that achieved results in hours rather than days.  

Key accomplishments:

• Apple Computer — Mac OS 7.5 Hands-On Seminar
  Designed and delivered hands-on seminar that supported the successful acceptance of Mac OS 7.5 within Apple, the heart of the user community. 

• Kaiser Foundation Health — Executive Computer Skills Training
  Delivered one-on-one, on-site computer skills training to executives, physicians and other key people at California’s largest healthcare provider. 

• • •

Productivity Point
San Francisco, California

Global computer skills training design and delivery for organizations and individuals.

Senior Software Trainer
1989 - 1993

Taught beginning through advanced classes in the major business software titles for Mac OS and Windows.

Key accomplishments:

• Tandem Computers — Mobility Training
  Designed and delivered custom mobility training to the firms enterprise sales teams that established the company as Tandem’s sole training vendor.

• Lead trainer for key clients such as the Defense Language Institute, American Express Security, and Tandem Computers..

• • •

Work Experience prior to 1989

• Macintosh Software Specialist [1986 - 1988]

• Market Planning Manager for Pacific Telesis International [1985 - 1986]

• Product Development Specialist for Odyssey Management Decision System [1984 - 1985]

• Project Leader for Warner Communications [1982 - 1983]

• Director of Marketing Communications for Software House [1981 - 1982]

• Research Assistant for A Better Chance [1980 - 1981]

• Special Projects Executive for Trust House Forte [1978 - 1979]

Education

Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

Private liberal arts education plus leading professional graduate schools.

Bachelor's Degree
1975 - 1978

Philosophy & Mathematics double-major plus minor in computer science.

• • •

Berklee College of Music
Boston, Massachusetts

Jazz and contemporary music school for performance and studio musicians.

Music Studies
1979 - 1980

Classical & jazz guitar, arranging, ear training, theory, and composition.

Skills

Portfolio: www.robertlaidlaw.com/portfolio

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertlaidlaw/