Jeff Schmitz

Jeff Schmitz is a longtime enterprise-technology marketing and human-resources executive with more than 25–30 years in the sector. He spent roughly 16 years at telecom-equipment maker Tellabs Inc., concluding as Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, before holding senior marketing and product roles at Visual Networks (VP of Marketing & Product Management) and Rivulet Communications (SVP of Sales & Marketing, in medical imaging). From about 2009 to 2016 he was at test-and-measurement company Spirent Communications, where he rose through roles including Chief Marketing Officer, General Manager of Networks & Applications, and Executive Vice President, steering the business through the cloud, big-data, and IoT transitions and overseeing acquisitions in mobile device management, automation, and cybersecurity.

He joined Zebra Technologies on February 22, 2016 as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. At Zebra he launched the company's award-winning PartnerConnect channel program and led its first major brand refresh. In 2020 his remit expanded when he took on human resources, becoming Chief Human Resources & Marketing Officer, and in March 2023 he was named Chief People Officer, leading talent, leadership development, diversity, and employer-brand functions for the global workforce.

Schmitz holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Marquette University and a Master of Science in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He has been recognized on Crain's Chicago Business's list of Notable Executives in Marketing and is a member of the Forbes Communications Council and the IoT (Internet of Things) Community, where he has spoken publicly (e.g., IoT Slam) on customer experience, brand, and employee experience.

In November 2025, Zebra announced that Melissa Luff Loizides would succeed him as Chief People Officer effective January 1, 2026. Schmitz planned to step down on December 31, 2025, continue leading the integration of Zebra's Elo acquisition through the second quarter of 2026, and then retire.

• No public investment thesis, fund, or angel-investing activity could be found for this individual. His career is that of a corporate C-suite executive (marketing, then HR/people) at public technology companies, not an investor.
• The stub's "Seed Round" investment stage and "Angel Investor" firm type could not be verified from any source and are therefore not represented as fact here.