Peter Dingle moves from Intel to Nest; will focus on connecting brands and startups

Dingle served as consumer brand and marketing strategy lead for tablets, mobile experiences and marketing analytics at Intel. His newly created role at the seed capital investment firm is director of branded accelerators. He will be tasked with bridging the gap that exists between the entrepreneurial talent of startups and the corporate initiatives of multinationals.

Marketers will be linked with startup founders so that their brands may engage directly with these startups under Nest’s 'Innovation Accelerator' program, the first of which is the AIA Accelerator (a 12-week program focused on healthcare and wearable technology that will ultimately benefit the insurance company).

Accelerators in coming months, such as the FinTech and SmartCity Accelerators, will also be customised on a case-by-case basis for the needs of brands in the form of joint ventures. Dingle’s role at Nest will be to encourage major brands to see startups as complementary to the in-house strengths in their marketing strategy.

As for promising startups, this process enables their founders to utlise resources, mentorship and advisory services from brands to drive growth without disrupting existing business models.

The hiring of Dingle adds to Nest's team of 11 startup experts. He was the consumer brand and marketing strategy lead for tablets, mobile experiences and marketing analytics at Intel for Asia Pacific and Japan prior to joining Nest.

Intel arguably also has resources to tap directly into the worldwide startup community, akin to the Unilever Foundry and Mondelez Mobile Futures, but Dingle told Campaign Asia-Pacific that his departure may be both Intel's gain and Nest's gain.

"Intel is looking to connect in a more meaningful way in Asia, but is challenged to reach outside the PC space," he said. "I have every confidence that Intel will support me, and we will do great things together in the future."