Moderator
Victor Veliadis, Ph.D.
PowerAmerica
Victor Veliadis is Executive Director & CTO of PowerAmerica, a member-driven Manufacturing USA Institute of industry, universities, and national labs accelerating the commercialization of energy efficient silicon carbide and gallium nitride power semiconductor chips and electronics. At PowerAmerica he has managed a budget of US$156 million, and is now managing a US$64M renewal. Victor is also an ECE Professor at NC State University, an IEEE Fellow, a National Academy of Inventors Fellow, and an IEEE EDS Distinguished Lecturer. He has 27 issued U.S. patents, 12 book chapters, and 165 peer-reviewed publications to his credit.
PowerAmerica
Company Profile
PowerAmerica is a consortium of industry, universities, and national labs accelerating the commercialization of energy efficient silicon carbide and gallium nitride power semiconductor technologies. Our membership network spans the wide-bandgap technology ecosystem, from materials to device developers and fabs to module manufacturers to end users, as well as universities that educate and supply the future workforce. As we continue to grow, so does the diversity of our membership.
Panelist
Amr Darwish
Mr. Amr Darwish has over 18+ years of experience in the technology and semiconductor fields. Previously during his time at Integrated Device Technology (IDT), Amr served in various Product Marketing and Technical roles, which spanned over North America, Europe, and Asia. Amr was a Cofounder of MaxPower Semiconductor, where he served as the COO. MaxPower was acquired by Vishay Siliconix in October 2022, where Amr was formerly the Senior Director of Product Marketing & Market Development for the Silicon Carbide division of Vishay.
With a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) and a Master in Business Administration (MBA), Amr has been able to use his blend of disciplines to create effective corporate & sales strategies and key strategic relationships, which have proliferated MaxPower’s (now Vishay’s) products into consumer, industrial, and automotive marketplaces.
In addition, Amr currently serves as the Chair of the Santa Clara University (SCU) Graduate Business Program Alumni Board, is a lead-investor and board member of several technology companies, serves as a start-up advisor in the Bronco Venture Accelerator and is a Partner in the Bronco Venture Capital Fund.
Panelist
Ramanan Natarajan
Qorvo
Ramanan has been working with power management ICs and power semiconductors for more than 2 decades spanning end markets such as enterprise power, consumer power, automotive powertrain and others. He has worked on AC-DC power management controllers, high voltage gate drivers and GaN FETs at Texas Instruments and International Rectifier (now Infineon) and is presently leading the SiC power business at Qorvo.
Qorvo
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Panelist
Andrea Mohamed
QuantumBloom
Andrea Mohamed is the COO and Co-founder of QuantumBloom, a startup empowering early-career women in STEM. She has over 20 years of strategy, marketing and innovation experience spanning semiconductors, high tech, higher education. and science organizations. She previously served as VP at RTI International where she led a multi-year growth strategy growing revenue from $400M to $750M and securing over $1.3B in new business. She oversaw a $10M annual innovation budget and co-led a multi-year investment to build AI capabilities for science research. She is a Duke MBA, Triangle Business Journal Women in Business awardee, and member of CHIEF.
QuantumBloom
Company Profile
QuantumBloom is your workforce development partner dedicated to building the semiconductor industry by helping you attract, retain, and empower early-career women in STEM. We’re not just addressing talent challenges – we’re shaping the future of an industry amid unprecedented growth and transformation.
By 2030, the US semiconductor industry faces a staggering shortage of up to 100,000 workers. The time to act is now. Our approach fuses evidence-based leadership development, personalized coaching, and community building. Together, we can cultivate an ecosystem where your emerging talent thrives, and a virtuous cycle of talent attraction and retention emerges.
When you partner with QuantumBloom, you’re not just investing in individual career development – you’re catalyzing growth, propelling innovation, and helping build the nation’s economic and national security.
Partner with QuantumBloom to build a more robust and resilient workforce and a more dynamic future.
Company Products & Services
QuantumBloom offers a suite of theory-driven and evidence-based solutions designed to develop and grow your workforce:
The Flagship is our crown jewel – a comprehensive multi-company cohort-based program that lasts up to 3 years in 1-year renewals. It features a proprietary curriculum, facilitated peer meetings, individual coaching, a moderated online community, mentoring, and manager coaching and involvement.
The ERG-in-a-Box amplifies your diversity initiatives providing a turnkey solution to energize your employee resource groups and foster a culture of inclusion and development.
The Subscription offers on-demand access to our curriculum and vibrant online community, empowering continuous learning and connection at the subscriber’s pace.
All our offerings are built on data-driven methodologies and tailored to the unique challenges of STEM professionals.
Ready to supercharge your talent pipeline? Let’s bloom together.
Panelist
Peter Rabbeni
IQE
Peter serves as Senior Vice President of the Communications Infrastructure and Security Business Unit at IQE, leveraging decades of business development and sales expertise in the semiconductor industry. His foundation is rooted in product design and engineering. Before joining IQE, Peter spent over a decade in executive roles at GlobalFoundries Inc, where he was responsible for foundry sales partnerships and business development.
Peter earned a BSEE degree from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1986 and an MSEE with a concentration in RF systems design from the University of Massachusetts in 1991. Additionally, he completed the IBM Executive Management program and the Executive Program for Growing Companies at Stanford University.
An active voice in the RF communications and wireless technology sectors, Peter has co-authored papers, published numerous trade journal articles and blogs, and frequently speaks on industry trends and developments. He is a member of IEEE.
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.
