foundation leadership
a balanced team is essential
We believe entrepreneurs can change the world — if they’re paired up with the right team. At the DOBKIN Intuitive Foundation, our leadership team lives these values. Bob Dobkin, a brilliant engineer, and Gabe Fenton, a skilled businessman, have been able to reach great heights by pairing up their complementary abilities.
Though we have very little overlap in our skill sets, we have great mutual respect. Our mission is to help others achieve the same.
Robert “Bob” Dobkin, Founder
Bob is a renowned inventor, entrepreneur, and is considered one of the founding fathers of analog integrated circuit design. He co-founded and served as Chief Technical Officer of Linear Technology Corporation, which he helped grow to 5,000 employees and well over $1 billion in revenue until ultimately selling Linear to Analog Devices for $14.8 billion in 2017.
Bob is also Co-Founder and Chairman of Intuitive Private Equity. He has served on the boards and advisory councils of many companies, including Genia Technologies – alongside CMU alumnus Dietrich Stephan, HMicro, Quellan, SleepIQ Labs, and Spectra7 Microsystems; and has made several hundred private equity investments.
He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and started his career in his hometown of Philadelphia at GTE Defense Systems. He soon moved on to analog module manufacturer Philbrick Nexus in Boston, MA, and then in 1969, Bob joined National Semiconductor in Santa Clara, CA to work for Bob Widlar designing analog integrated circuits. He stayed at National for 11 years and rose to Director of Advanced Circuit Development.
Bob holds more than 100 patents in the field of linear integrated circuits. He has authored over 50 technical papers including the three-volume technical guide, Analogue Circuit Design.
Bob and his wife Kasey founded The Robert and Kathleen Dobkin Intuitive Foundation in 2017 with a mission to support education, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the fields of engineering, technology, medicine, and science. The Foundation grew out of Bob’s extensive engineering career and forty-five years of investment experience and Kasey’s passion for helping others. Bob and Kasey live in Monte Sereno, CA.
“Bob started helping us initially on the technical side. His profound knowledge in IC and analog circuitry has been incredibly helpful in making some of the big technical decisions. What we didn’t realize is that Bob was willing to offer us a lot of his business network and advice, which has proven to be as valuable as those tech insights.”
— Xunjie Zhang, Nimbus Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University
Gabe fenton, president
Gabe has twenty-five years of capital markets experience and has started numerous successful private businesses. In addition to his work with The Robert and Kathleen Dobkin Intuitive Foundation, Gabe is the President of Intuitive Private Equity.
Before joining Intuitive, Gabe founded Resolve Funding, a national private real estate lender that specializes in providing loans for real estate investors, builders, and developers. Earlier, he was a VP for Bernstein Private Wealth Management; Founder and General Partner of NetWide-Coor Capital; and SVP Wedbush Securities, where he was active in building the alternative investment platform. He was a Portfolio Manager for UBS Wealth Management and spent the three years before that at Morgan Stanley in San Francisco. Gabe served as a VP of Finance for Wells Fargo Advisors and he began his professional career in 1991 as a financial consultant for John Hancock Insurance. Gabe authored the book Employee Stock Options: A Strategic Planning Guide for the 21st Century Optionaire in 2000.
Gabe has been a volunteer football and rugby coach at the local high school, as well as a YMCA sports coach specializing in weight training.
Advisors
William Hale
William is a seasoned executive, strategist, and founder of Active Compass with over 22 years of experience leading corporate strategy, global operations, and transformational change across diverse industries. Known for aligning strategy with execution, William helps organizations navigate complexity, drive growth, and deliver measurable business outcomes with clarity and purpose.
Previously, William served in senior leadership roles at Cargill, where he oversaw global operations for their Strategy & Development Function, spanning multiple continents and led large, cross-functional teams managing significant budgets and portfolios. His work has driven enterprise-wide transformation, improved engagement and retention, and delivered substantial financial results through values-based leadership and disciplined execution.
Through Active Compass, William partners with organizations of all sizes to provide fractional strategy, operations leadership, and executive coaching. His work is grounded in servant leadership, systems thinking, and a deep commitment to creating sustainable impact for businesses, leaders, and the communities they serve.
Peter Van Nest
Peter is a seasoned business strategist and advisor with over 30 years of experience driving growth, operational excellence, and high-performance team development across global markets. He has dedicated his career to helping leaders and entrepreneurs move from organizational complexity to clarity and sustainable success. Peter’s proven methodologies emphasize the alignment of people, purpose, and performance to unlock enduring profitability and cultural strength.
Throughout his career, Peter has built and grown highly productive organizations across multiple industries and geographies, consistently delivering strong results that include above-average growth and significant improvements in employee retention. He has personally coached and led hundreds of professionals to achieve their strategic goals, fostering stronger leadership capabilities and operational discipline.
As the driving force behind Crazy Good Solutions and a Certified Pinnacle Business Guide, Peter brings a client-centered mindset that values purposeful leadership, systems thinking, and practical execution. His guidance helps mission-driven founders and teams scale with confidence, resilience, and intentional impact.
“Over the months of our involvement, Gabe Fenton has given me mentorship that has been a huge part of my personal growth as an entrepreneur. His guidance has helped me grow my perspective and develop a deeper understanding of what it takes to run a business.”
— Cody Candler, EdBoard Technologies, CU Boulder
