Summary
Juan Higueros is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Bear Robotics, where he has led operational strategy, fundraising, and strategic partnerships since January 2017. Higueros brings extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, having completed over 40 transactions across Fortune 500 companies and startups during his career at KPMG, Polycom, and EY. He holds a B.A. in Economics from UCLA and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Career
Before co-founding Bear Robotics, Higueros built a career in financial and operational leadership roles spanning strategy, M&A, and corporate development. He served as Director of Strategy and M&A at KPMG, where he led complex mergers, acquisitions, carve-outs, spinoffs, and divestitures. He also held the position of Director of Corporate Development at Polycom and Senior Manager of Operational Transaction Services at EY. His earlier experience includes roles as Corporate Development Associate at Solidus Networks, Latin America Analyst at Oracle, and positions in private equity at J.P. Morgan.
Higueros co-founded Bear Robotics in 2017 alongside John Ha, Fangwei Li, and Brennand Pierce with a mission to build AI-driven service robots that automate repetitive physical tasks in hospitality environments. As COO, Higueros has been instrumental in the company’s operational growth, securing funding rounds totaling approximately $175 million, and establishing partnerships with major restaurant chains including Chili’s, Denny’s, Marriott, Compass Group, and Pepsi. He has represented the company in press interviews regarding funding announcements, market strategy, and international expansion through partnerships with SoftBank in Japan and Korea Telecom in South Korea.
Higueros has publicly articulated a vision for human-centered robotics, stating, “For me, technology should quietly empower the human side of service. That’s the vision I carry into every decision: keep dignity intact, reduce friction, and protect the moments of connection that matter most.” He emphasizes that Bear’s robots are designed to ease repetitive and physically demanding tasks so hospitality teams can focus on guest interaction and care. He has stated his belief that future hospitality leaders will need to “orchestrate both humans and robots” and that service robotics will become core infrastructure for restaurants and hotels, similar to how reservation systems are today.
Following LG Electronics’ majority acquisition of Bear Robotics in January 2025, Higueros remains in his role as COO, continuing to lead operations and strategic initiatives as the company expands beyond restaurant service into autonomous cleaning, warehouse automation, and humanoid manipulation.
Source Notes
This profile draws from Juan Higueros’ LinkedIn profile, his published interview with the University of Central Florida’s Rosen Research Review, and his conference speaking engagements including the NextGen Restaurant Summit. His career history and educational background are documented on LinkedIn. His vision for human-centered robotics and the role of service robots in hospitality is sourced from the UCF interview published in 2024-2025.