Moderator
Tamara Baksht, Ph.D.
VisIC Technologies
Born and raised in Tomsk, Siberia, former USRR, Tamara is founding CEO of VisIC technologies a and one of the pioneers in GaN transistors technology. Tamara’s GaN expertise started from PhD study in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2001 for high power high frequency GaN transistors and continued through development and qualification of GaN technologies for power and RF applications.
Prior Tel Aviv’s PhD, Tamara earned degrees in Philosophy and Physics from Tomsk State University, and last 10 years she is leading the VisIC company to be the major player in power electronics for EV market.
VisIC Technologies
Company Profile
VisIC Technologies has a decade of experience in creating, developing, and advancing concepts based on cutting-edge Gallium Nitride-on-silicon technology. We develop solutions that help reduce energy waste in power conversion systems, with a focus on battery electric vehicles (BEV). Our patented D3GaN technology – Direct Drive D-mode GaN – addresses the automotive industry’s cost, supply, sustainability, reliability, quality, and performance needs.
With our D3GaN technology, BEV can save up to 50% on power losses over the driving cycle of the electric car, thus reducing battery cost and increasing driving range and performance. This solution also reduces the cooling system requirements and the size of the BEV inverter.
VisIC Technologies has produced the first GaN-based transistors used in automotive inverters. By utilizing the GaN on Silicon technology, we address the supply chain concern as we are using existing semiconductor high-volume production lines.
Panelist
Carlos Castro
Carlos Castro, formerly Vice President and General Manager GaN for Nexperia and has more than 15 years of experience in power and automotive semiconductors. Prior to joining Nexperia, Carlos led the IGBTs/MOSFETs/SiC discretes business and automotive electronics activities at Littelfuse. Earlier he was in charge of Marketing and Application Engineering for automotive MOSFETs and led the Technical Marketing group for Electric Drive Train at Infineon Technologies. He has been granted several patents for power semiconductor devices and has been author of multiple papers and conferences presentations. Carlos holds a MSc and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Dortmund, Germany and the University of Granada, Spain.
Panelist
Allan Frederiksen
Cambridge GaN Devices
Allan has a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Aalborg University focusing on system and algorithm development and realization.
Allan has spent more than 22 years in the semiconductor industry working in leading edge of mobile communications at Nokia, Renesas and Broadcom, security technology at NXP, depth sensing technology at ams AG, as technical leader, program manager, team leader and group leader. He has built and led 100+ person global multi-site, multi-cultural organizations over a decade. With his teams, he has delivered multiple highly complex technical products with lifetime volumes in the billions of units to customers.
With his extensive engineering leadership background and technology understanding combined with customer orientation and passion for product development, Allan joins CGD in the role of VP of Research and Development.
Allan has a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Aalborg University focusing on system and algorithm development and realization. Allan has spent more than 22 years in the semiconductor industry working in leading edge of mobile communications at Nokia, Renesas and Broadcom, security technology at NXP, depth sensing technology at ams AG, as technical leader, program manager, team leader and group leader. He has built and led 100+ person global multi-site, multi-cultural organizations over a decade. With his teams, he has delivered multiple highly complex technical products with lifetime volumes in the billions of units to customers.
With his extensive engineering leadership background and technology understanding combined with customer orientation and passion for product development, Allan joins CGD in the role of VP of Research and Development.
Cambridge GaN Devices
Company Profile
A spin-out of the Cambridge University, Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD) is a fabless semiconductor company that develops a range of energy-efficient GaN-based power devices to make greener electronics possible.
Operating at a market worth exceeding $30 billion, CGD completed several funding rounds to develop and deliver to the market a wide range of products for consumer and industrial applications.
In autumn 2021, the company was named Tech Scaleup of the Year by Business Weekly in the category of green electronics and was awarded the UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) deep tech Investment of the Year.
Panelist
Aly Mashaly
Verotera
Aly Mashaly is a renowned expert in power electronic systems and power semiconductors, with over 20 years of experience in the electronics industry. He holds several patents in the field and is a keynote speaker at numerous international conferences. Aly earned his degree in Electrical Engineering with a focus on Power Electronics from Ain Shams University in Cairo. In late 2002, he moved to Germany to pursue his master’s degree at the University of Hanover.
He began his career as a pioneer in the early development of power electronic systems for avionic applications before shifting his focus to advancing power electronics in the electric vehicle market. In his most recent role as Technical Director at ROHM Semiconductor Europe, Aly played a key role in driving the company’s vision to establish itself as a global leader in power devices.
Today, Aly is the Founder and CEO of Verotera, a German startup that bridges the gap between system developers and semiconductor innovators by combining deep system-level expertise with advanced semiconductor power modules and AI-driven hardware optimization.
Verotera
Company Profile
Verotera is a German startup and a next-generation semiconductor company driven by deep system-level expertise and a vision for a smarter, cleaner world. Our team brings hands-on experience in inverter development, semiconductor design, and real-world system integration. We operate across the full stack — from chip physics to complete systems — designing technologies that address the actual needs and constraints of modern applications.
This unique positioning allows us to reduce integration costs, accelerate design cycles, and deliver higher system efficiency. With strong industry networks and credibility in both the OEM and semiconductor domains, we bridge the gap between demand and innovation — enabling faster validation, strategic partnerships, and more effective go-to- market execution.
Please visit Verotera’s website for more information: www.verotera.com
Panelist
Americo Lemos
IQE
Americo Lemos is the CEO of IQE plc, the leading global supplier of advanced epitaxial wafers and material solutions. A seasoned leader with extensive experience in the semiconductor industry, Americo joined IQE from GlobalFoundries, where he served as the Senior Vice President of Business Development for Asia Pacific and China Country President. In this role, he was instrumental in enhancing business efficiency and driving growth in these markets.
Prior to his tenure at GlobalFoundries, Americo was the Senior Vice President at Qualcomm, overseeing its data center business. His career also includes a significant role as Vice President of Platform Engineering at Intel, where he managed strategic ventures with China-based semiconductor companies. Additionally, he has held leadership positions at Texas Instruments, Quanta Computer in Taiwan, and Skyworks.
Americo holds a Master of Sciences in Electronics and Computers from École Nationale Supérieure de Sciences Appliquées et de Technologie (ENSSAT) in Lannion, France
IQE
Company Profile
IQE is the leading supplier of compound semiconductor wafer products and advanced material solutions to the global semiconductor industry that enable a diverse range of applications across mobile handsets, global telecoms infrastructure, smart connected devices, electric vehicles, infrared and sensing applications.
