Caitlin Kalinowski

Go-getter
DISC Type : d

Director at Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco

San Francisco Bay Area, United States

Overview

Caitlin Kalinowski is a product executive specializing in ambitious hardware and physical AI. Her career spans leadership roles at Apple, Meta, and OpenAI, where she has been instrumental in developing iconic products like the Mac Pro and Oculus VR headsets. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University and serves on the boards of Axon and the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco.

Outside of her technical work, Caitlin is a vocal advocate for diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. She is a multi-year honoree of the "Queer 50" list, which recognizes influential LGBTQ leaders, and is passionate about contemporary art, as evidenced by her board role at the ICA SF.

Unique fact: Caitlin holds a patent for the internal architecture of the iconic cylindrical Mac Pro, a testament to her foundational work in consumer hardware design.

Personality Overview

Challenger

Self-Confident

Vision Oriented

They respond well to confident salespeople.  They don’t always try to control the conversation but neither do they like yielding it fully. They can be nudged to make faster decisions by offering what they value.

Topics They Care About

Physical AI
Her professional focus is on building product and execution systems behind ambitious hardware and physical AI, including her recent work in robotics at OpenAI.
Hardware Development
She has a two-decade career leading hardware projects, from Apple's MacBooks and Mac Pro to Meta's AR/VR headsets like Oculus Rift and Quest.
AI Ethics
She recently resigned from OpenAI on principle, citing concerns over the lack of deliberation on surveillance and lethal autonomy in a deal with the Pentagon.

Media Appearances

Caitlin has no verified media appearances

Work History

1-2026
Director at Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco
11-2024 - 3-2026
Member of Technical Staff at OpenAI
3-2022 - 7-2024
Head of AR Glasses Hardware at Meta
1-2022
Startup Advisor at Multiple
8-2019
Independent Director - Board of Directors at Axon

Education

Bachelor of Science from Stanford University
Directors' Consortium 2019 from Stanford University

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 19 Location : San Francisco Bay Area, United States Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Director at Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco
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Insights For Selling To Caitlin

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Highlight the competitive differentiation of your product
  • Tell them that you are there to help them create visible impact within their organization
  • Be crisp while making the pitch

DONT's

  • Don't try too hard to get friendly, let it happen with time
  • Avoid repeating yourself or making generalizations
  • Do not give up if they are not convinced, try again with a different approach

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Caitlin is

  • Confidence in the product plays an important role, followed by powerful testimonials.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Caitlin

  • They might hesitate a little, but they will say no if they are not convinced.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Caitlin move?

  • They are neither the fastest decision makers nor the slowest.
  • Can Caitlin take some risk or not?

  • Once they have analyzed the pros and cons, they can take some risks.

You And Caitlin

Personality Compatibility


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