Rahul Sandil, the individual tasked to make VR apps as widespread as the apps on mobile phones, is leaving HTC and its Vive virtual reality division.
A position he's held since 2016, Sandil came to HTC with nearly a decade of experience leading other companies and their interactive content initiatives.
From HTC To Micron
Starting March 12, as per the update on his LinkedIn account, Sandil starts a new job as Micron Technology's Head of Global Marketing.
At HTC, Sandil came onboard at a time when the Taiwanese tech company first launched their HTC Vive virtual reality headsets. These consumer-facing headsets went head to head with those from rival VR headset company, Oculus.
To compete against Oculus' multiple VR offerings such as the Oculus Quest, Oculus Go, and Oculus Rift, HTC offered both consumers and content creators the Viveport global app store. This followed along the steps of Apple and its early initiatives with its own iOS App Store for its iPhones.
Selling Software To Selling Hardware
At Viveport, Sandil led a team of marketers selling the idea of an Apple App Store-like marketplace of VR content and applications to content creators and developers from around the world. Now he's taking over a team selling Micron's products of computer memory and storage under the consumer brands popularly known as Crucial and Ballistix.
From selling software to selling hardware, Sandil now manages brands with products that are already being used in millions of personal and enterprise devices around the world. Though the products may be different, the mission is the same, and that's to get people to buy.
With his long and diverse employment history specializing in marketing with name-brand companies, Sandil may find his new mission of marketing memory and storage chips more achievable than selling a future of consumer-side VR software that has yet to really find traction in today's existing markets.
Past And Future Work
Other notable positions Sandil has held over his 20-year track record of developing the marketing channels of startups and established companies include Reloaded Games, Inc.'s CMO and the head of Microsoft's digital marketing for customer acquisition and engagement for Xbox Studios and Hololens Experiences.
At present, Sandil continues in other roles such as board advisor, mentor, and consultant to a portfolio of tech companies in the San Francisco Bay area.
