
Leadership
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Silvaco Leadership: Executive Team, Regional Management and Board of Directors
Silvaco leadership is Chief Executive Officer Dr. Walden C. Rhines and nine other executives, eight leads for regional sales and management, and a board of seven directors chaired by Kathy Pesic.
Executive team
Ten executives run Silvaco’s products, sales, finance and operations. If your decision sits with one business unit, Dr. Eric
Guichard heads AI-Driven Manufacturing and Andrew Wright heads AI-Driven Design.


Dr. Walden “Wally” C. Rhines
Chief executive since August 2025, and a Silvaco director since September 2022. He was CEO of Mentor Graphics for more than two decades, then of Siemens EDA after Siemens bought Mentor in 2017. Most recently he led fabless chipmaker Cornami, and he chairs the Qorvo board.
Walden C. Rhines, Ph.D., has served as our Chief Executive Officer since August 2025, and as a member of our board of directors since September 2022. From March 2020 to June 2025, Dr. Rhines served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cornami, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company. Since 2015, Dr. Rhines has also served as a member of the board of directors and as chair of the compensation committee of Qorvo, Inc. (Nasdaq: QRVO), a semiconductor company, since January 2015 and its chairman since November 2023. He served as a member of the board of directors of PTK Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: PTK), a special purpose acquisition company from July 2020 until September 2021 and served on its audit, nominating and compensation committees. From October 1993 to March 2017, Dr. Rhines served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Mentor Graphics Corporation, an EDA company, and chairman of its board of directors from 2000 until its acquisition by Siemens in March 2017, pursuant to which the company was renamed Mentor Graphics, a Siemens Business. Following the acquisition, Dr. Rhines served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens EDA (formerly Mentor Graphics, a Siemens Business), from March 2017 to October 2018, after which he served as its Chief Executive Officer Emeritus until September 2020. Dr. Rhines received a B.S.E. in metallurgical engineering from the University of Michigan, an M.S. and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. from the Southern Methodist University, Cox School of Business.

Chris Zegarelli

Chris Zegarelli
Took over as CFO in September 2025, with more than 20 years in semiconductor finance behind him. He was CFO of GaN Systems through its 2023 sale to Infineon, then Infineon's SVP of Finance once the deal closed. Earlier stops: CFO of indie Semiconductor and of Thermal Engineering International, and finance roles at Intel, Qualcomm and Broadcom.
Chris has served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Silvaco since September 2025. He brings more than 20 years of global finance leadership experience across the semiconductor industry, with expertise in investor relations, financing, financial reporting, forecasting, M&A, operations and strategic planning.
Before joining the company, he was the Senior Vice President of Finance for Infineon, which he joined after the 2023 acquisition of GaN Systems, where he was CFO. In this role, he led integration and strategic planning following Infineon’s acquisition of GaN Systems.
Prior to that he held CFO positions at Thermal Engineering International and Indie Semiconductor, where he raised significant debt and equity financing, enhanced financial systems, and supported rapid revenue growth. Preceding his time with indie, he held finance positions at Broadcom, Qualcomm, and Intel.
Mr. Zegarelli earned an MBA from the University of Michigan, a BA in Russian and International Economics from Middlebury College.

Ian Chen

Ian Chen
His remit is marketing, sales and field applications, and making Silvaco easy for your team to buy from and work with. He's held technical and business leadership roles at Maxim, Freescale, Cypress and Texas Instruments. EE Times named him a Top Technologist to Watch, and more than 20 patents carry his name.
Ian Chen is the Chief Revenue Officer at Silvaco. He focuses on delivering a friction-free experience to Silvaco’s customers and capturing value and growth for Silvaco’s technology. He leads marketing, sales, and field applications teams.
Prior to Silvaco, he led many successful efforts that monetized market discontinuities and emerging markets. He has served in technical and business leadership positions at multinational semiconductor companies, including Maxim, Freescale, Cypress, Texas Instruments, and in startups such as Analogix Semiconductor, Sensor Platforms, and IC Works.
Ian has been recognized as a Top Technologist to Watch by EE Times and was included in the list of “Top 50 Who’s Who in Sensor Technology” by Fierce Electronics. He holds more than 20 patents. He is also a Partner at Gimmel Entrepreneurial Fund.
He received his Bachelor and Master’s degrees in electrical engineering, as well as an MBA, all from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Candace Jackson

Candace Jackson
A lawyer in securities and corporate governance, she joined in September 2024 from Synaptics, where she was Deputy General Counsel. At Mayer Brown she led capital raises for public companies. At US Foods she took the company through its IPO.
Candace Jackson has served as Silvaco’s Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since September 2024. Prior to joining Silvaco, she was Deputy General Counsel of global fabless semiconductor design company Synaptics Incorporated from July 2021 to September 2024. She served as Associate General Counsel of aviation company Aerion Corporation from February 2021 until the company wound down its 20-year development operations in June 2021. In June 2015, Ms. Jackson joined the law firm of Mayer Brown LLP where she served as securities and corporate governance counsel and led capital raising transactions for public companies of all sizes. She left Mayer Brown from April 2016 through June 2018 to serve as Assistant General Counsel at US Foods Holding Corp. There, she led the company’s IPO and the exit of its controlling stockholders and established its securities and corporate governance function. She returned to Mayer Brown from September 2018 to February 2021 where she helped to build the firm’s Public Companies and Corporate Governance practice. Ms. Jackson began her career as a securities and corporate governance lawyer at financial services firm Primerica, Inc. (NYSE: PRI) where she served as Senior Attorney following its spin-out from Citigroup, and as an Associate at law firm Husch Blackwell LLP. Ms. Jackson has a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Michigan, and a J.D. from the Emory University School of Law.

David Dutton

David Dutton
In charge of worldwide sales and field applications, and no stranger to the company: he was Silvaco's CEO, a director and vice chairman from 2014 to 2019. He has since been CEO of MDC Precision, a job he'd also held at Mattson Technology. His career began in semiconductor process development at Intel.
David Dutton serves as Senior Vice President of Sales at Silvaco, where he leads the company’s global sales and field applications organization. He is responsible for strengthening commercial execution, expanding strategic customer relationships, and driving growth across Silvaco’s semiconductor technology portfolio.
Mr. Dutton brings more than 30 years of semiconductor and technology leadership experience, including more than 20 years as CEO of public, private, and private equity-backed companies. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer, Board Director, and Vice Chairman of Silvaco from 2014 to 2019. Prior to rejoining Silvaco, Mr. Dutton served as Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of MDC Precision, a global precision manufacturing company serving the semiconductor and advanced technology markets. Earlier, he was President, Chief Executive Officer, and Board Director of Mattson Technology (NASDAQ: MTSN), where he led the transformation of the semiconductor capital equipment company and its expansion into new technology markets.
Mr. Dutton began his semiconductor career at Intel, where he held engineering and management roles in semiconductor process development, manufacturing technology, yield improvement, and capital equipment evaluation. He completed the AEA/Stanford Executive Institute Executive Management Program and holds a B.S. in Geology from San Jose State University.

Dr. Eric Guichard

Dr. Eric Guichard
Runs AI-Driven Manufacturing, the business behind Silvaco's TCAD and FTCO. He has led the TCAD business since 2012, and first worked on it in 1995 as an applications engineer. His Ph.D. in semiconductor physics is from Grenoble.
Eric Guichard, Ph.D., has served as our Senior Vice President and General Manager of our TCAD division since November 2012, and served as our Vice President of Applications from July 2008 to November 2012. From September 1995 to July 2008, Dr. Guichard served in various roles with Silvaco SA, formerly known as Silvaco Data Systems, one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, including as an applications engineer. Dr. Guichard received a M.S. in material science and a Ph.D. in semiconductor physics from Instituto Politécnico Nacional de Grenoble, France.

Andrew Wright

Andrew Wright
Leads AI-Driven Design: Silvaco's EDA tools and semiconductor IP. He was SVP of R&D and New Product Introduction at Efabless, and before that led Cypress Semiconductor's new product development, all of its IP included. He has held executive posts at UltraSense and Waterbit too.
Andrew Wright leads Silvaco’s Semiconductor IP Business Unit. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President of R&D and New Product Introduction at Efabless. He previously served as Executive Vice President of New Product Development at Cypress Semiconductor where he led the company’s chip and IP design methodologies and oversaw the development of all Cypress IP and new products. He has also held executive roles at UltraSense and Waterbit. He holds Bachelors in EE from Trinity College, Dublin Ireland.

Jasvinder Singh

Jasvinder Singh
Owns corporate projects and AI across Silvaco. His 20-plus years cover EDA, AI, semiconductors and autonomous systems, much of it running global R&D teams. At Synopsys, Cadence and SiClarity he led work on AI-driven verification, co-optimization and cloud design platforms.
Jasvinder Singh is the Senior Vice President of Silvaco’s Corporate Projects and AI. He brings over two decades of leadership experience in electronic design automation (EDA), artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductor, and autonomous systems.
Throughout his career, Jasvinder has led global R&D teams and driven product, platform, and engineering growth at scale. Prior to joining Silvaco, he held senior leadership roles at Synopsys, SiClarity, and Cadence, where he spearheaded advancements in AI-driven verification, co-optimization, and cloud-enabled design platforms.
Jasvinder holds an M.S. in Computer Science & Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, a B.S. in Computer Science & Engineering from Punjab Engineering College and has completed the Engineering Leadership Program at the University of California, Berkeley.

Brian Bradburn

Brian Bradburn
IT infrastructure, licensing, quality and development operations, across every Silvaco office. With Silvaco since 2001, he has worked through engineering and development on the EDA products. Earlier, he built software programs for clients in banking, nuclear and government.
Brian Bradburn is Senior Vice President of Operations at Silvaco. He is responsible for the Development Operations, Quality, Licensing, and IT infrastructure across all Silvaco offices.
Since joining Silvaco in 2001, he has held numerous positions in the engineering and development divisions helping to drive the design, development and vision of the EDA products.
Prior to joining Silvaco, Bradburn implemented and managed software programs for various companies in the banking, nuclear and government sector. Bradburn holds a B.S. in Physics from the University of Salford.

John Berg

John Berg
Drives business development across the whole Silvaco product range. Before PsiQuantum, where he was VP of Supply Chain, he held senior roles at Cypress Semiconductor, Nantero and American Semiconductor. His leadership career, over two decades long, spans photonics, quantum computing and semiconductor electronics.
John Berg leads business development across all of Silvaco’s product lines. He brings over two decades of leadership experience in quantum computing, semiconductor electronics, and photonics. John has a track record of productizing transformative hardware technologies and solving complex operational challenges. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Supply Chain at PsiQuantum. He has held senior leadership roles at American Semiconductor, Nantero, and Cypress Semiconductor. He holds an M.S. in Management from Stanford Graduate School of Business and earned a S.B. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Bill Latino

Bill Latino

Man-Gyu Hwang

Man-Gyu Hwang
President of Silvaco Korea since 1994, responsible for semiconductor software sales and marketing. In Korea, much of that work is flat panel display software, plus newer semiconductor technologies.
Man-Gyu Hwang has over twenty-five years of experience in the EDA and TCAD software industry. He has served as the president of Silvaco Korea Co., Ltd since 1994, focusing on semiconductor software marketing and sales.
With his experience and management skills, Silvaco Korea Co., Ltd has become a provider of flat panel display software solutions in Korea, as well as other novel semiconductor technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Hanyang.

Naoto Kameda

Naoto Kameda
Silvaco Japan's entire sales team has reported to him since 2017. An employee since 2006, he spent the eleven years before taking the role selling TCAD and EDA software to major electronics companies and semiconductor foundries.
Naoto Kameda joined Silvaco in 2006 and has since been responsible for numerous significant sales activities in TCAD and EDA software, working with clients that include major electronic companies and semiconductor foundries.
Currently, Kameda holds the position of Vice President of Sales and General Manager, overseeing Silvaco Japan’s entire sales team since assuming this role in 2017. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Kanto Gakuin University.

Ellison Zhao

Ellison Zhao

Garrett Schlenvogt, Ph.D.

Garrett Schlenvogt, Ph.D.

Andrew Patterson

Andrew Patterson
Andrew Patterson joined Silvaco in 2023, and leads the European and Middle East sales team. The team is committed to building long-term partnerships, and business relationships with semiconductor technology innovators across the region. Prior to joining Silvaco, he led the global automotive embedded software business at Siemens EDA, and has held business development and marketing leadership positions in the EDA industry for over 30 years.
He holds a masters degree in Engineering and Electrical Sciences from Cambridge University, UK.

Chiping Tu

Chiping Tu

Zhao Qingda

Zhao Qingda
A Silvaco hire of May 2005, he now manages the Singapore office and sales across Singapore, Australia and Southeast Asia.
Zhao Qingda is the Managing Director of Silvaco Singapore office. He joined Silvaco in May, 2005. Currently he is in charge of Silvaco Singapore management and sales of Silvaco products in Singapore, Australia, South East Asia.
Zhao Qingda holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Board of directors
Seven directors oversee Silvaco leadership on behalf of shareholders. Kathy Pesic, who co-founded the company in 1984, chairs the board.
Kathy Pesic · Chair of the Board of Directors
Anthony Ngai · Director
Dr. Cheemin Bo-Linn · Director
Anita Ganti · Director
Iliya Pesic · Director
Dr. Walden C. Rhines · Chief Executive Officer and Director
Dr. Theodore “Ted” Tewksbury · Director
Checking governance? Committee membership, charters and governance documents are on the investor relations site.