Ahmed Shariq

Distinguished Product & Quality Engineer

Ampere Computing

Ahmed is an expert Silicon Technologist focused on the frontier of semiconductor manufacturing and product quality. With a career spanning technical and leadership roles at Ampere, Twist Bioscience, Samsung Austin Semiconductor, and Intel, Ahmed has become a pivotal figure in the deployment of sub-3nm process technologies. He possesses a unique multidisciplinary expertise that spans the entire silicon value chain: from process integration, device physics, and advanced metrology to robust test plan implementation and production yield enhancement. Ahmed is recognized for his ability to translate complex materials science into scalable engineering solutions, ensuring that the next generation of high-performance CPU/SoCs meets the most stringent reliability and performance benchmarks in the global market.

Arun Venkatachar

Vice President, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud & Central Engineering

Synopsys

Arun Venkatachar is Vice President of Central Engineering, AI, and Cloud at Synopsys. Currently leading Corporate wide AI and Cloud CoE, Engineering Platforms, Centralized Tools & Infrastructure, Developer Productivity and Product Operations with responsibility to advance state of the art technology development while supporting a $7B+ of business and maintain Synopsys leadership. He has over 28+ years of experience in building and leading enterprise scale Product Development and Customer Deployments while managing large global technical teams. Past background includes building Compilers, Debuggers, Simulators.  He has a Master’s in Computer Engineering.

Bill En

Corporate Vice President, Engineering

AMD

Bill En has 30+ years of experience in the Semiconductor Industry ranging from silicon wafer R&D, process technology, circuit design and foundry technology with over 65 patents and 30 publications. He graduated from Univ. of California Berkeley with a Ph.D in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences in 1996. He is currently Corporate Vice President at Advanced Micro Devices overseeing Foundry technology from initial R&D through production for all AMD products.

Clea Edwards

Sustainability Stakeholder Lead, Americas Sales & Marketing

STMicroelectronics

Dr. Clea Edwards serves as Sustainability Stakeholder Lead for the Americas Sales & Marketing organization at STMicroelectronics. She represents the company to customers on current and emerging sustainability opportunities, aligning customer goals with ST’s corporate strategy to drive collaboration and measurable progress. Dr. Edwards also empowers regional teams to proactively address evolving sustainability expectations. Her work spans key topics including climate change impact, responsible products, ethical supply chains, and circular economy. Prior to ST, she was a Research Scientist at Arizona State University’s Global Futures Laboratory, where she led international science-to-policy collaborations.

Danny Seiden

President & CEO

Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Danny Seiden is President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, where he leads the state’s most influential business advocacy organization and serves as a leading voice on issues shaping Arizona’s economic competitiveness, workforce, infrastructure, and long-term growth.

With more than two decades of experience spanning law, government, and public affairs, Danny oversees the Chamber’s policy agenda, legal strategy, and advocacy efforts at the state and federal levels, with a focus on advanced manufacturing, technology, energy, and economic development.

Prior to joining the Chamber, Danny served as General Counsel for Valor Global, advising on corporate growth strategy, regulatory risk, and public affairs initiatives across multiple states. Earlier in his career, he spent several years at Intel and later served as a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, where he chaired the Phoenix office’s Government Law & Policy practice.

From 2014 to 2018, Danny served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, where he helped shape and implement major policy initiatives, including the Arizona Opioid Epidemic Act and a voter-approved K-12 education funding referral that stabilized education funding without raising taxes.

Danny has been consistently recognized by Arizona Capitol Times for his leadership and impact on public policy and Arizona’s business community, including being named Leader of the Year in Manufacturing and Leader of the Year in Public Policy. He was also recently included in the publication’s Power 50 list of Arizona’s most influential leaders.

He serves as an adjunct professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and was the 2024 Executive in Residence at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management.

Danny is also active in civic and community organizations. His commitment to service extends internationally through his work with Orphan Outreach, where he volunteers in support of orphaned and vulnerable children in Nairobi, Kenya.

He earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Arizona State University and his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Pepperdine University. He lives in Phoenix with his wife, Ann, and their three children.

Danny Wilkerson

Managing Partner

Invictus EV Innovation Technology

• Semiconductor Production: Leading plans to establish a domestic chip manufacturing facility to address supply chain shortages, particularly for the automotive sector.
• EV Infrastructure: Driving innovation in EV technology and power management.
• Economic Development: Collaborating with political and business leaders in the Detroit Metropolitan area to revitalize industrial zones through high-tech manufacturing.

Dario Sassi Thober

Founder & President

Wernher von Braun Center for Advanced Research

Dario Thober is the Founder and CEO of VON BRAUN LABS, a leading deep-tech R&D center and venture studio. He directs advanced, full-cycle initiatives in ASIC design, fabless operations, and AI system engineering, serving as the critical bridge connecting traditional microelectronics with innovative classical and quantum-based technologies.

Eric Burns

Field CTO

Anthropic

Eric Burns is an experienced technology entrepreneur, product leader, and software developer. At Anthropic, Eric served as the product manager for the launches of MCP, Claude Desktop, and Claude Code, and now as as Anthropic’s first Field Executive Architect/Field CTO. Before joining Anthropic, Eric was founding CTO and then CEO of Panopto, a leading searchable video platform for large enterprises and the world’s top universities. Panopto began as a spin-off from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science, where Eric developed the core technology while working as a research programmer. He has also held roles as a software engineer on Microsoft Bing, a member of the board of directors of Internet2, and as a venture partner with Seattle’s AI2 Incubator.

Gautham Unni

Head of Semiconductor Solutions, Strategy, and Business Development

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Dr. Gautham Unni serves as the Head of Semiconductor Solutions, Strategy, and Business Development at Amazon Web Services (AWS). In this role, he spearheads efforts to deliver scalable, secure, and innovative cloud solutions that address the complex challenges of semiconductor design, production, and supply chain management. Gautham leads strategic initiatives that leverage AI to optimize the semiconductor value chain, encompassing areas such as EDA, AI-driven manufacturing, and advanced product development.

With over 15 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, he has held key positions at GlobalFoundries, Lam Research, and Applied Materials, contributing expertise in process engineering, product development, and product management/marketing. Gautham holds both a BS and a PhD in chemical engineering, and is recognized for his ability to bridge technology and business strategy to drive innovation across the semiconductor ecosystem.

Joe Werner

Vice President, Digital Tools, Digital Enablement Group Applied Global Services

Applied Materials

Joe Werner leads the creation, employment, and scaling of Digital Tools for Applied Global Services (AGS). His team develops proprietary hardware and algorithms that combine large data sets and domain expertise to deliver actionable insights that optimize equipment performance for our customers.

Joe has been with Applied Materials for more than 26 years and has held various positions in process engineering, product line management, and field service operations at both Applied Materials headquarters and multiple customer locations.

Prior to joining Applied Materials, Joe served in the United States Air Force for seven years as a Civil Engineering Officer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

Kae David

Managing Director, Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology

Ernst & Young

Kae David is a cybersecurity and emerging technology leader at EY, where she advises organizations on navigating complex digital risk, resilience, and transformation challenges in an increasingly connected world. Operating at the convergence of cybersecurity, digital trust, and business transformation, she offers extensive expertise in cybersecurity strategy, emerging technologies, and innovation-driven enterprise solutions.

With extensive experience supporting technology and semiconductor organizations, Kae helps companies navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of AI, cybersecurity, operational resilience, and next-generation digital infrastructure. Her work focuses on enabling organizations to securely accelerate growth and adopt transformative technologies while addressing the growing complexities of global supply chains, data protection, and cyber risk in highly connected environments.

Lihong Cao

Senior Director of Engineering & Technical Marketing

ASE

Dr. Lihong Cao is Senior Director, Engineering & Technical Marketing at ASE, responsible for driving advanced packaging technology development, package architecture for chiplet integration, technology promotion, new product introduction, strategic planning, and business engagement. Lihong has a proven track record of successfully leading engineering operations to establish advanced System-in-Package production and chiplet integration. Her expertise spans design, process development, and production enablement.

Prior to joining ASE, Lihong served as a Senior Manager at AMD for over sixteen years, leading advanced packaging technology qualification worldwide. She was also responsible for 2.5D packaging technology development and led AMD’s advanced packaging and assembly process qualifications across all new product introductions. She has published more than 70 papers.

Lihong received a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology, and subsequently completed a tenure as Research Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Mayank Mangla

Product Manager and Systems Architect at MIPS

GlobalFoundries

Ming Zhang

Vice President of Fabless Solutions

PDF Solutions

Dr. Ming Zhang is Vice President of Fabless Solutions at PDF Solutions, where he drives innovation at the intersection of semiconductor design, AI, and advanced manufacturing. Previously, he served as a Distinguished Architect at Synopsys, leading the company’s advanced packaging strategy.

Dr. Zhang is also the founding CEO of zGlue, a Silicon Valley startup that pioneered the chiplet ecosystem with its active, programmable 2.5D interposer architecture. His work has advanced modular system design and accelerated the adoption of chiplet-based heterogeneous integration.

He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a B.S. in Physics from Peking University.

Nisha Ananthakrishnan

Senior Director, Advanced Packaging Technology and Manufacturing

Intel

Nisha Ananthakrishnan is a senior technology leader at Intel recognized for building and aligning complex technology ecosystems that span materials innovation, advanced packaging, and external technology integration. She brings a proven track record of translating deep technical expertise into scalable strategy and execution across product development, manufacturing, and partner networks. Nisha earned her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Florida, Gainesville, and began her career at Intel in Advanced Packaging, where she led critical materials and supplier technology development initiatives. Over time, she has expanded her leadership scope to include External Technologies across foundry silicon, memory, and sockets—driving cross‑company collaboration, technology qualification, and strategic partnerships across the semiconductor value chain.

Today, Nisha leads organization‑wide efforts spanning the packaging roadmap, competitive and ecosystem analysis, package and silicon/assembly design rule ownership, and external technology management. Her focus is on aligning technology readiness with long‑term business and manufacturing strategy, ensuring Intel is positioned to deliver trusted, differentiated products at scale in an increasingly complex global semiconductor landscape.

Paul Cunningham

Senior Vice President & General Manager, System Verification Group

Cadence Design Systems

Dr. Paul Cunningham has served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the System Verification Group (SVG) of Cadence since March 2021, running the division since 2018. In this role, Dr. Cunningham is responsible for logic simulation, emulation, prototyping, formal verification, Verification IP, and functional debug, while also leading corporate agentic AI initiatives. Prior to this role, Dr. Cunningham was responsible for Cadence’s front-end digital design tools, including logic synthesis and design for test.

Dr. Cunningham joined Cadence in 2011 via the acquisition of Azuro, a startup developing concurrent physical optimization and useful skew clock tree synthesis technologies, where he was a co-founder and CEO.

Dr. Cunningham holds an MS and a PhD in computer science from the University of Cambridge in the UK.

Rich Simoncic

Chief Operating Officer

Microchip Technology

Richard “Rich” Simoncic currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Microchip Technology, a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal analog, and Flash-IP solutions. With a tenure at Microchip that dates to its inception in 1989, Rich has been a pivotal figure in the company’s ascent, having held a progression of management roles that have shaped the strategic direction and operational success of the company.

In his previous role, Rich was the Executive Vice President of Microchip’s Analog & Interface Products Division (AIPD). Rich built and led a strong team of professionals to become a flourishing organization, contributing significantly to the company’s revenue through multiple
strategic mergers and acquisitions (private and public), technology licensing, co-marketing agreements, organic growth and by being part of the Microchip M&A team that consolidated over 30+ companies resulting in Microchip growing from a $800M company to $4.6B.

Rich’s tenure at Microchip is marked by his innovative approach to team empowerment, leading to the enhancement of systems and the development of device/manufacturing process technologies across various business units. His adoption of advanced statistical methods,
comprehensive training programs, Al/ML adoption, organizational development and leading organizational change has been instrumental in creating a world-class corporate culture of achievement.

Rich founded and spearheaded Microchip’s foray into analog products in 1998. This strategic move has since seen the analog segment of the company grow to account for $2.0B of Microchip’s $4.6B annual revenue. The growth of this analog product segment has created six
additional business units within the company.

Beyond his corporate achievements, Rich is deeply committed to fostering education in science and technology. In November 2020, he took on the role of President of the Board at AZFirst, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting science education and providing financial support to students aspiring to careers in science and engineering. His contributions to science and technology education have been recognized with the prestigious Woody Flowers Award from FlRST Robotics.

Rich Simoncic is an alumnus of DeVry Institute of Technology, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology, laying the groundwork for a career marked by innovation, leadership, and a passion for technological advancement. Before his impactful journey with Microchip began, Rich honed his skills at General Instrument Corp., where he spent five years in design engineering and failure analysis roles.

Robert Day

Director of Go-To-Market, Physical AI Business Unit

Arm

Robert Day is a director of physical AI go-to-market at Arm, working across the ecosystem of robotics, AI-defined vehicles and automation partners.

In this role, Robert focuses on how AI systems interact with real-world devices at scale, helping align ecosystem, platform, and deployment requirements across hardware and software partners. His work spans emerging technologies enabling embodied AI, autonomous systems, and next-generation robotics applications.

Prior to Arm, Robert held leadership roles across embedded software, functional safety, and semiconductor technologies. He holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Brighton, UK.

Robert Wann

Founder & CEO

Enova Technology

Robert Wann founded Enova Technology in 2000, after spending 11 years engineering and technical marketing job roles in Silicon Valley, California. He is passionate about cryptography and cybersecurity technology and built the world-wide first Full Disk Encryption (FDE) chip in year 2002. Sitting at the physical layer of a computer, the FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified chip performs in-line transparently encryption to the attached storage to safeguard the confidentiality of data-at-rest (DAR) and data-in-transit (DIT) and serves as a hardware Root of Trust, suitable for enhanced security of Unmanned Vehicles, Robotics, ISR, Autonomous driving and Edge AI. Customers include top 10 US prime defense contractors, NATO, and industries. Robert is well-versed in modern cybersecurity engineering architecture, cryptography, and security engineering including Post Quantum Cryptography. He received his education in MSEE and BSEE, and am a CISSP and CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) Certified Assessor (CCA)

Sarah Cooper

Managing Director, AI Native

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Dr. Sarah Cooper is AWS’s Managing Director for AI Native. AWS AI Native conducts core research and development to design, build, and operate AI-native AWS software offerings that focus on the disruptive potential of AI to fundamentally change business economics and industry dynamics.  Dr. Cooper serves as a member of the WEF Futures Council on Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains. Prior to AI Native, Sarah built AWS Industry Products developing purpose-built industry services and applications to solve the hence unsolved challenges of industry and digital transformation across Automotive, Energy/Sustainability, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Manufacturing, and Media and Entertainment. Sarah joined AWS in 2016 to lead AWS IoT services and platforms. Sarah started her career as a materials physicist, founding TE-Bio, a thermoelectric device company, and NaturalNano, a nanomaterials additive company with global halloysite mining operations.  She has a PhD in Applied Physics from University of Sydney, conducted fundamental research at NASA and DoE, and holds patents in advanced materials and devices.

Scott Barrett

Managing Director, Semiconductor Practice Lead

Accenture

• Mr. Barrett is a Managing Director within Accenture’s High-Tech practice, leading their North America Semiconductor practice
• He has 30 years of experience in the Semiconductor industry split between Industry positions at Intel and Micron and consulting. At Accenture, he is a leading voice in the Semiconductor industry advising clients on their Technology & Operations transformation journeys
• Scott is also a member of the Global Semiconductor Alliance’s Emerging Technologies interest group, and has written multiple publicly available articles on the latest semiconductor insight and trends
• Scott holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Scott Holcomb

Principal

Deloitte

Scott Holcomb is a Principal at Deloitte Consulting with over 25 years of experience in data, analytics, and artificial intelligence.

Scott leads one of Deloitte’s largest consumer packaged goods (CPG) client relationships, where he is responsible for driving end-to-end AI and data transformation. In this role, he partners closely with senior executives to modernize technology platforms, operationalize AI, and unlock measurable business value across the enterprise—from supply chain and operations to commercial and customer functions.

In parallel, Scott is spearheading Deloitte’s go-to-market motion with a leading AI platform provider, focused on bringing joint solutions to market that accelerate clients’ ability to deploy AI at scale. This includes advising on platform selection decisions, helping clients evaluate and adopt the right AI and data architectures for their business, and guiding enterprise technology modernization with AI-led differentiation. He combines cutting-edge platform capabilities with Deloitte’s deep industry expertise to create practical, outcomes-oriented paths forward for enterprise clients.

Scott is known for connecting strategy to execution—translating emerging AI capabilities into business-led outcomes and structuring engagements that tie value delivery to measurable results. He is particularly passionate about ensuring that AI innovation is paired with accountability and that systems are designed to be transparent, secure, and reliable from the ground up.

Theo van Roekel

Managing Director

Tracces by Capgemini

Umar Shah

Principal Semiconductor Industry Advisor

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Umar Shah is a seasoned technology executive who leads strategy, worldwide business development, and cloud solutions for Electronics and EDA at AWS. With three decades of Silicon Valley experience, he brings deep expertise from senior roles at Apple, Cadence Design Systems, Mentor Graphics, and Amazon Lab126, where he has driven both technical innovation and business transformation. As a trusted advisor to the semiconductor industry, Umar serves on multiple AWS customer executive councils and regularly engages with C-suite leaders to architect solutions for the most pressing challenges in silicon engineering such as chip design with artificial intelligence. He has authored AWS technical blogs on generative AI for semiconductor design and EDA license cost optimization and is a frequent speaker at industry forums on Design enablement and Secure Collaboration. Umar holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from N.E.D. University of Engineering & Technology in Karachi, Pakistan, complemented by executive certifications in project management from Stanford University and cloud technologies from AWS.

Wajih Ansari

Senior Manager

Deloitte

Wajih Ansari is a Senior Manager at Deloitte Consulting with over 16 years of experience in semiconductor manufacturing and operations.

Wajih is a semiconductor operations and transformation leader with extensive experience in complex and high-volume manufacturing environments. He brings deep expertise across front-end and back-end operations, process and equipment engineering, operational excellence, output maximization, and cost reduction, and product development. As a leader in Deloitte’s Semiconductor and Smart Manufacturing practice, Wajih specializes in driving cross-functional, enterprise-wide transformations focused on lean business process re-engineering and through the application of agentic AI platforms, enabling smarter decision-making, greater efficiency, and scalable operational improvement.

Wajih is passionate about using cutting edge agentic AI platforms to revolutionize existing advanced manufacturing and quality systems, including PLM, SPC, R2R, and FDC, QMS, etc. to deliver significant value at scale.

William Wang

Founder & CEO

ChipAgents.ai

William Wang is the Founder and CEO of ChipAgents.ai, the category leader in agentic AI for semiconductor design and verification. ChipAgents has raised over $74 million from leading investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, TSMC-backed Matter Venture Partners, and strategic partners such as Micron Technology, Ericsson, MediaTek, and Samsung. The platform is now deployed across more than 80 leading semiconductor organizations worldwide. Prior to founding ChipAgents, Dr. Wang was the Mellichamp Endowed Chair Professor in AI and Design at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he led pioneering research in large language models and generative AI systems. His work has been recognized with numerous honors, including IEEE AI’s “10 to Watch,” the DARPA Young Faculty Award, the NSF CAREER Award, and the IEEE Laplace Award.