Moderator
Rainer Kaesmaier, Ph.D.
Hitachi Energy Ltd.
Dr. Rainer Kaesmaier is leading the semiconductor business of Hitachi Energy with its global manufacturing and R&D footprint for the power semiconductor product portfolio which compromises GTOs, IGBTs, IGCTs, Thyristors, Diodes and SiC for market segments such as energy transmission & distribution, transportation & rail, renewables, industry and eMobility. Rainer is a semiconductor industry veteran having held various management and executive positions in the sector for close to 30 years, covering areas of global responsibility in business strategy and development, business transformation, technology and engineering, operations and production, R&D, as well as sales and marketing. After stations at Siemens, Infineon, Qimonda, and the European semiconductor manufacturer LFoundry, he assumed 2018 the responsibility for the global semiconductor business of Hitachi Energy. In addition to that, Rainer is since 2019 also member of the management board for Hitachi Energy Switzerland. He was a member in various industries strategy committees in Europe and the US, and currently in the advisory board for International Semiconductor Industry Group (I.S.I.G.). Rainer holds a Master’s degree in Physics from the Technical University Munich and a PhD in Physics from the University Kassel in Germany. He is based in Lenzburg near Zurich, Switzerland.
Hitachi Energy Ltd.
Company Profile
We have one of the most diverse semiconductor portfolios that includes thyristors, diodes, GTOs, IGCTs, IGBTs and RoadPakTM modules, which are manufactured at our facilities in Lenzburg, Switzerland and Prague, Czech Republic. We have one of the most diverse semiconductor portfolios that includes thyristors, diodes, GTOs, IGCTs, MOSFETs and IGBTs, which are manufactured at our facilities in Lenzburg, Switzerland and Prague, Czech Republic. Our research team continues pushing the boundaries of what is possible, using silicon and silicon carbide (SiC) technology to innovate the next generation of power electronics devices. Our advanced semiconductor technology brings unprecedented control to HVDC transmission systems. We are the heart of traction converters for high speed trains, metros and diesel-electric locomotives. Pumps, fans, roller tables, hoist and winches found throughout industry rely on us, and the world is able to enjoy greener mobility because we power the next generation of e-vehicles.
Panelist
Edoardo Merli
Edoardo Merli, formerly STMicroelectronics’ Executive Vice President, Power Transistor Sub-Group Vice President and has held this position since January 2022.
Merli joined STMicroelectronics in 1998 as Head of System Architecture in the Telecom Wireline Division. In 2002, he formed and led ST’s WLAN Business Unit.
Merli was appointed Director of the Automotive Product Group in 2007, where he took responsibility for the RF Competence Center & Connectivity Business Unit and subsequently for the Car Radio Business Unit. In 2012, Merli was promoted to Marketing & Application Director for ST’s Automotive and Discrete Group in Greater China and South Asia. In 2016, his responsibilities were extended to include the Company’s automotive activities in Korea. In 2017, Merli was promoted to Power Transistor Macro-Division General Manager and Group Vice President of ST’s Automotive and Discrete Group.
Merli has filed several patents on ADSL, multi-service routers, switches, and
throughput management, and authored numerous publications in the areas of Telecommunications, Automotive, and Connectivity.
Edoardo Merli was born in Parma, Italy, in 1962, and graduated with a degree in Electronic Engineering from University of Bologna in 1989.
Panelist
Philip Zuk
Transphorm
Philip leads Transphorm’s global marketing and business development efforts for the company’s GaN power semiconductor technology. Previously, he oversaw business development for Vishay Siliconix’s superjunction technology and Microsemi’s MOSFET, FRED diodes, IGBTs, and SiC technologies. He also held marketing and engineering roles at Medallion Instrumentation Systems and Fairchild Semiconductor. Philip draws on expertise in high power semiconductor devices, power supply systems and applications, microcontroller-based systems, RFID, and project management. He holds an MBA (Hons) from I.H. Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba; a BSc in Electrical Engineering, University of Manitoba; and an Associate Degree in Electronic Engineering Technology, Red River College. He also holds two US patents as well as a trade secret and has authored many technical and application papers.
Transphorm
Company Profile
Transphorm, Inc., a global leader in the GaN revolution, designs and manufactures high performance and high reliability GaN semiconductors for high voltage power conversion applications. Having one of the largest Power GaN IP portfolios of more than 1,000 owned or licensed patents, Transphorm produces the industry’s first JEDEC and AEC-Q101 qualified high voltage GaN semiconductor devices. The Company’s vertically integrated device business model allows for innovation at every development stage: design, fabrication, device, and application support. Transphorm’s innovations are moving power electronics beyond the limitations of silicon to achieve over 99% efficiency, 40% more power density and 20% lower system cost. Transphorm is headquartered in Goleta, California and has manufacturing operations in Goleta and Aizu, Japan.
For more information, please visit www.transphormusa.com.
Follow us on Twitter @transphormusa and WeChat @ Transphorm_GaN.
Panelist
Christine Dunbar
Christine Dunbar, formerly Senior Vice President of Global Sales at IQE, the leading supplier of compound semiconductor wafer products and advanced material solutions to the global semiconductor industry. Christine joined IQE in August 2022.
Christine was previously at GlobalFoundries where she held various executive roles driving GF business growth towards the October 2022 IPO. She joined GlobalFoundries in July 2015 with the IBM Microlectronics Division acquisition, as the Vice President of Product Management for the RF Business Unit.
Christine graduated from Cornell University in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering and has held various engineering, technical management, and executive positions throughout her career, including leadership roles in Sales, Business Development & Semiconductor Manufacturing Operations. In 2018 Christine was nominated for the Global Semiconductor Association’s inaugural “Rising Woman of Influence” award.
Christine is passionate about serving as an ambassador for her employers and the semiconductor industry writ large thru active participation and speaking engagements at various industry forums. Christine is also a passionate advocate for women in semiconductors, and has sponsored the establishment of women’s resource groups at IBM, GlobalFoundries and IQE.
Christine is also active in her community supporting causes important to her. She is a founding member of the Leadership Now Project, a group of non-partisan business leaders committed to the health of the US democracy, established in 2017. Christine also serves on the Board of Directors at the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington, Vermont. She lives in Shelburne, Vermont USA with her partner & two teenage children.
Panelist
Rob Willems
BelGaN
Mr Willems achieved his engineering degree in Applied Physics at the HTS Dordrecht (the Netherlands) in 1982. He got an additional degree in business economics at university of Eindhoven (the Netherlands)
He joined Philips Semiconductors (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) in 1983 as a process engineer / production manager. In 1992 he joined Mietec-Alcatel, a semiconductor company in Belgium, that became Alcatel Microelectronics, and was acquired by AMI Semiconductor in 2002 and ON Semiconductor in 2008.
In February 2022 he joined BelGaN that acquired part of onsemi Belgium as General Manager and VP Operations.
Throughout the past 30+ years he was active in various roles in operations, leading operational teams to achieve their operational targets while running continuous improvement projects on operational efficiency, quality, processes, costs, as well as projects in the areas of automation, capacity expansion, technology upgrades, in an automotive qualified environment.
BelGaN
Company Profile
Be a leading automotive qualified open foundry in the Wide Band Gap ecosystem.
Enabling our customers to develop and manufacture unique solutions for a sustainable electrified future.
Creating value through our employees’ enthusiasm, talents and commitment.
BelGaN, as a WBG foundry in Europe, enables and services a rapidly expanding GaN-ecosystem in Europe (‘GaN-Valley’) and beyond with innovative and high-quality WBG semiconductor technologies and a highly efficient value-add 6 and 8 inch manufacturing facility. BelGaN adds unique services such as customer-driven Technology-as-a-Service (customized processes), Manufacturing-as-a-Service, and Quality-as-a-Service to the traditional foundry business model whereas we cooperate with suppliers and customers to deliver automotive quality products to the market. BelGaN develops and bring-to-market a rich roadmap of GaN & SiC platforms, driven by our customers’ needs and our core strengths and vision. We partner with leading universities and RTO’s in an Open Innovation model to prepare our innovation roadmap and bring differentiating innovations to our customers.
Manufacturing Facility: Wafer fab with over 4500 m2 of clean room space, located on a 44.000 m2campus.
Fab: 6 & 8 inch (planned).
Production: GaN Technologies & 0.35 µm to 2 µm Low, Medium, and High Voltage Analog CMOS and BCD Technologies.
BelGaN BV
Westerring 15
9700 Oudenaarde
Belgium
+32 55 332211
Panelist
Markus Bolte, Ph.D.
AlixPartners
Markus co-leads AlixPartners’ global semiconductor practice. With 20 years of global business experience, he serves clients on their business and operating model transformation and change journeys. He is driven by a passion for measurable impact and the desire to help the semiconductors industry navigate through the disruptions of our age. Before joining Alixpartners, Markus led the strategy at a global technology leader. He started his consulting career at two leading European management consultancy firms. Before joining the consulting world, Markus led a research group for supercomputing and nanophysics research utilizing Nvidia’s CUDA to accelerate complex nanophysics simulations and collaborating with institutions globally. Markus holds a PhD and Masters in Physics and Computer Science.
AlixPartners
Company Profile
AlixPartners is a results-driven global consulting firm that specializes in helping businesses respond quickly and decisively to their most critical challenges—from urgent performance improvement to complex restructuring, from risk mitigation to accelerated transformation. These are the moments when everything is on the line—a sudden shift in the market, an unexpected performance decline, a time-sensitive deal, a fork-in-the-road decision. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients until the job is done, and only measure our success in terms of the results we deliver.
Company Products & Services
Clients call us when they need pragmatism and cut-through to solve their most complex challenges arising from a continually disrupted world. Our services cover Artificial Intelligence, Corporate Strategy & Transformation, Data Governance, ESG, Growth, Investigations, Disputes & Advisory Services, Mergers & Acquisitions, Organizational Transformation, Supply-Chain Management & Operations, Technology, Transformative Leadership and Turnaround and Restructuring.
