Rob Cerbone helps telecom, wireless, and technology leaders turn complex product and connectivity ideas into understandable, executable plans. Through Cerbone & Co., he works with a small number of organizations each year on high‑impact initiatives—often alongside or between full‑time executive roles.
Whether you are exploring new growth bets, simplifying an overgrown portfolio, or figuring out how private wireless fits into your roadmap, these services are designed to move from options to decisions, and from decisions to results.
New product & innovation strategy
- Who it’s for: Product, strategy, and P&L leaders evaluating new revenue streams or pressure‑testing innovation pipelines.
- What Rob does: Clarifies opportunities, sizes markets, and builds business cases that connect technology, operations, and commercial reality.
- Typical outcomes:
- Prioritized opportunity set and clear “where to play / how to win” choices
- Business cases and roadmaps executives can align around
- Early moves and pilots that de‑risk major bets
Go-to-market & commercialization
- Who it’s for: Teams preparing to launch or scale new offers—especially connectivity, SaaS, and managed services.
- What Rob does: Defines segments, offers, pricing, routes to market, and launch plans; aligns product, marketing, sales, and operations on what is being sold and how.
- Typical outcomes:
- Clear value propositions and packaging customers understand
- Pricing and commercial models that support margin and growth
- Sales enablement and launch plans that drive adoption
Portfolio rationalization & simplification
- Who it’s for: Organizations whose portfolios have become complex through growth and M&A (for example, security, home automation, or connectivity providers).
- What Rob does: Inventories existing offers, identifies redundancy and gaps, and designs simpler, future‑ready portfolios.
- Typical outcomes:
- Dramatically fewer offer combinations (often 80–95% reduction)
- Easier quoting, selling, and servicing
- A portfolio structure that supports digital sales and self‑service
Private wireless & connectivity strategy
- Who it’s for: Operators, carrier‑focused MSPs, enterprises, and research/education communities evaluating private LTE/5G, CBRS, and advanced Wi‑Fi.
- What Rob does: Provides vendor‑neutral guidance on technology options, architectures, business models, and go‑to‑market strategy, often anchored in concrete use cases.
- Typical outcomes:
- Clear view of where private wireless fits—with Wi‑Fi and existing networks
- Prioritized use cases and pilot roadmap
- Commercial and deployment models aligned with internal capabilities and partners
Fractional / interim executive leadership
- Who it’s for: CEOs, boards, and investors needing near‑term leadership in product, marketing, or P&L ownership.
- What Rob does: Steps in as a fractional or interim leader to stabilize or accelerate a business while longer‑term structures and teams are put in place.
- Typical outcomes:
- Continuity of leadership during transitions
- Faster progress on critical initiatives while permanent hires are made
- Objective, operator‑level perspective on strategy and execution
How engagements work
Most engagements start with a focused discovery—typically a set of conversations and a review of existing plans and data. From there, Rob will recommend one of a few models: a tightly‑scoped advisory project, an ongoing advisory relationship, or a fractional/interim leadership role. The aim is to choose an approach that fits the size of the opportunity and the pace at which your organization needs to move.
See examples of work:
- Rationalizing a multi‑acquisition product portfolio in security and home automation → Case Study 1
- • Using private wireless to pivot a carrier‑focused MSP into enterprise → Case Study 2
- • Evaluating private wireless for a national research and education consortium → Case Study 3
Talk about your situation
If you have a specific initiative in mind—or you’re still shaping the problem—Rob is happy to explore whether there’s a fit.