Executive &
Leadership Team
Leaders and innovators shaping USV’s mission across business, arts, and technology.
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About Robert Vera
Chief Experience & Partnership Officer
Robert Vera, MBA, is an educator, and innovation strategist dedicated to transforming higher education into a launchpad for real-world impact. As Chief Experience & Partnership Officer at the University of Silicon Valley, Robert leads the integration of industry partnerships, experiential learning, and venture creation to ensure students graduate not only career-ready, but opportunity-ready.
Prior to joining USV, Robert served as the Founding Director of Grand Canyon University’s Canyon Ventures Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, where he built one of the most dynamic university-based innovation ecosystems. Under his leadership, early stage companies achieved national recognition, including two Shark Tank winners, and he personally mentored 20 honorees of the Phoenix Business Journal’s Inno Under 25.
Robert’s impact extends beyond the campus. He is the recipient of the Phoenix Business Journal’s 2025 Red Blazer Award, recognizing influential leaders shaping Arizona’s business landscape, and was named the City of Phoenix 2024 Export Champion of the Year for advancing global market engagement and cross-border economic development.
Robert champions a model of education that blends technical mastery, entrepreneurial thinking, and professional communication. At USV, Robert works at the intersection of academia and industry, expanding partnerships across Silicon Valley and beyond to create applied learning pathways, paid internships, startup accelerators, and industry-embedded projects. His work reflects USV’s mission to develop polymathic graduates, individuals who combine technical excellence with creativity, communication, and the capacity to lead in a rapidly evolving global economy.