Moderator
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
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
Avinash Kashyap Ph.D
Dr. Avinash (Avi) Kashyap is the VP & GM of the Discrete & Wide Bandgap Power BU at Renesas Electronics. He leads a global organization, responsible for P&L, engineering, marketing, applications and revenue generation of power devices incl. SiC, IGBTs, MOSFETs and GaN for the automotive and industrial markets.
Prior to his current role, he was Director of Silicon Carbide and Power Discretes at Microchip Technology where he led engineering and marketing groups focused on product lines that included SiC & Si FETs and diodes, rad-hard devices and RF power switches.
Previously, Dr. Kashyap was leading several power device programs at the GE Global Research Center in Niskyuna, NY. He has been involved in the development of SiC technology since its infancy for 2 decades including pioneering work on compact modeling, SiC integrated circuits and radiation-hardened devices. He has authored more than 35 peer-reviewed publications and has over 20 patents granted or pending. Dr. Kashyap holds an MS & PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He is a senior member of the IEEE and a member of the Arkansas Academy of Electrical Engineers.
Panelist
Dieter Liesabeths
VisIC Technologies
Dieter is a senior management leader in the semiconductor industry with over 30 years of experience in Sales, Marketing, Business Development, new technology introduction and new product definition.
Prior to joining VisIC Technologies he served for ten years at Wolfspeed GmbH as a Senior Sales & Marketing Director and built first the industrial and later the automotive department with an automotive application center.
Dieter drove the industry’s conversion from Silicon to Wide Band Gap (SiC), by building an eco-system to support the fast-switching Wide Band Gap devices and partnering with industry leaders for creating a multi-billion USD business.
Dieter holds an engineering degree Dipl.-Ing. (TH) from the University of RWTH Aachen, Germany.
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.
