Erik Pounds

Erik Pounds is a marketing and product management professional with over 20 years of experience in the technology and data science sectors, focusing on advancing data analytics and AI solutions.
Erik Pounds has been serving as the Director of Product Marketing at NVIDIA since 2020, where he’s focused on full-stack solutions in the areas of AI and data science. 

In his capacity as the Senior Director of Enterprise AI at NVIDIA, Erik is responsible for promoting GPU-accelerated tools and technologies like the NVIDIA Merlin deep recommender system and the NVIDIA Riva (formerly Jarvis) conversational AI framework.

Building on NVIDIA AI Foundation Models, a curated collection of enterprise-grade pretrained models, Erik’s team provides developers worldwide a running start for bringing custom generative AI to their enterprise applications.

Prior to NVIDIA, Erik led marketing at SwiftStack, and he has held numerous leadership roles in product management throughout his career at companies including EMC, Brocade, Drobo and BitTorrent. 
Erik holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco. Erik is also an enthusiast in sports, he was the captain of the NCAA Division 1 Golf Team during his time at the University of San Francisco. 

Erik Pounds is a seasoned marketing and product professional currently serving as the Director of Product Marketing at NVIDIA. His extensive career spans various leadership roles across private and public companies, where he has been instrumental in driving product innovation and marketing strategies. His expertise lies in developing near-term operational plans and long-term business strategies, thought leadership, and the positioning and messaging of platforms, products, and technologies.

At NVIDIA, Erik is part of the Enterprise Computing team, a segment focused on harnessing the power of AI to accelerate data analytics, machine learning, and deep learning. His team’s mission is to bring accelerated computing closer to the edge, ensuring that enterprises can fully leverage AI and data science in their operations. They provide developers with cutting-edge tools such as the NVIDIA Merlin deep recommender system, the NVIDIA Riva (formerly Jarvis) conversational AI framework, and the open-source RAPIDS data science libraries. These resources, along with NGC containers, models, and helm charts, enable customers to maximise NVIDIA’s advancements in accelerated AI.

Before his tenure at NVIDIA, Erik was the Vice President of Marketing at SwiftStack, a company recognised for its leadership in object and file storage. During his time there, he was responsible for all marketing functions, including inbound marketing, content creation, design, social media, and analyst relations. SwiftStack’s innovative edge-to-core-to-cloud data management platform, SwiftStack 1space, benefited from his strategic vision and execution.

Erik’s career also includes a notable stint as the Senior Vice President of Product Management at BitTorrent. He led the product development and global go-to-market strategy for BitTorrent Sync, a file sync and share solution for businesses and individuals. His leadership saw the product through its beta phase to a successful commercial offering, supporting over 15 different platforms and used by millions globally.

Prior to BitTorrent, Erik served as the Vice President of Product Management at Drobo, where he developed and owned the product strategy and roadmap for Drobo’s storage products. His work included driving the development of new storage technologies such as Drobo’s Data-Aware Tiering and the Drobo 5D and 5N products. His responsibilities encompassed product management, program management, technical marketing, technical publications, and business development.

Erik’s earlier roles at Brocade and Adaptec further solidified his expertise in storage solutions. At Brocade, he led the marketing roll-out of next-generation Ethernet technologies and developed storage strategies around iSCSI and NAS, maintaining Brocade’s leadership in storage networking. At Adaptec, he was a Senior Product Manager in the Storage Solutions Group, responsible for developing the award-winning Snap Server line of network-attached storage solutions.

Erik’s career began at EMC Corporation, where he held various roles over five years. As a Senior Product Manager, he managed the data protection strategy for EMC’s SMB-focused product line, EMC Insignia, and led cross-functional teams to deliver new versions of the Retrospect backup and recovery software. His contributions were crucial in maintaining Retrospect’s market leadership.

Erik holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco. During his university years, he was the captain of the NCAA Division 1 Golf Team, the President of the Student Alumni Association, and a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Board.

Erik Pounds envisions a future where advanced AI and data science technologies are seamlessly integrated into enterprises, empowering businesses to accelerate innovation and drive impactful outcomes. At NVIDIA, his focus is on pushing the boundaries of GPU-accelerated computing, making sophisticated tools and frameworks accessible to developers worldwide. By fostering a collaborative environment and leveraging cutting-edge research, Erik aims to enable organisations to harness the full potential of AI, machine learning, and data analytics, ultimately transforming industries and enhancing operational efficiencies across the board. His commitment to innovation and excellence underpins his vision for a more connected and intelligent world.