Recent leadership shifts at Agility Robotics and Boston Dynamics mark a turning point in the robotics scene. Boston Dynamics’ long‑standing CTO, Aaron Saunders, who helped shape the early work on BigDog (the groundwork for the Spot robot), has decided to step down after more than twenty years. In announcing his departure on LinkedIn, he reflected on how the innovations he helped nurture are now helping to bring AI into the physical world.
Over at Agility Robotics, Chief Product Officer Melonee Wise is also set to leave by the end of the month. Wise, who first joined as CTO and transitioned to CPO in May 2024, has been a guiding force in steering the company’s product strategy. Her impressive career includes heading robotics automation at Zebra Technologies and leading Fetch Robotics—an enterprise that was acquired by Zebra for $290 million. Wise’s early work with the Robot Operating System (ROS) and TurtleBot at Willow Garage, along with industry accolades such as the MIT Technology Review TR35 and the 2022 Engelberger Award, underscores her influence in the field. Her role as a board member at the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) further highlights her expertise.
In response to Wise’s departure, Agility Robotics is reconfiguring its management structure. Marco Marroquin is stepping in as the new Chief Hardware Officer while the application software and product divisions will now report to CTO Pras Velagapudi. This streamlining is part of a broader effort to sharpen the company’s focus as it navigates an ever-evolving market.
Looking ahead, Agility Robotics is set to keynote the upcoming RoboBusiness conference in Santa Clara, California, on October 15‑16. As part of the event, the company will join a panel titled “Lessons Learned from First Humanoid Deployments,” sharing the stage with industry voices like NVIDIA’s Jim Fan and Katlyn Lewicke from GXO Logistics. If you’ve ever wondered how leadership changes can spark fresh innovation, these developments underscore that a new management approach can open unexpected opportunities in robotics.
