Dr. Babak Taheri
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Babak A. Taheri, Ph.D. has served as Chief Executive Officer and a board member of Silvaco since August 2019, with a brief pause between September and November 2021. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Products from October 2018 to August 2019.
Before joining Silvaco, Dr. Taheri was the CEO and President of Integrated Biosensing Technologies (IBT), an advisory and consulting firm, from May 2015 to October 2018. Dr. Taheri serves on the board of directors of Sunright Limited (Singapore: SGX), a provider of advanced semiconductor test and burn-in services. He has also served on advisory boards, including MEMS World Summit, Novasentis, AGCM, ALEA Labs, Silverlake Sumeru, Lion Point Capital, and was a member of the governing council of ESDA Alliance (2019-2021). He currently chairs the advisory board for the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of California, Davis.
Dr. Taheri has held leadership roles at several companies, including VP & GM at Freescale Semiconductor (now NXP), where he received the “Diamond Chip Award” (2013, 2014) and was named MEMS & Sensors Executive of the Year (2014). He has also served as VP/GM at Cypress Semiconductors, earning “The Perfect Project Award” in 2003, and was instrumental in acquiring Ramtron for the business he was managing. His experience includes roles at Invensense (now TDK), SRI International, and Apple.
Dr. Taheri holds a B.S. in Engineering from San Francisco State University, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from San Jose State University, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering (with concentrations in Electrical Engineering and Neuroscience) from the University of California, Davis. In 2015, he received the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Medal (DEAM) from UC Davis. His most recent book, “Artificial Sensors Shape the Six Pillars of Our Lives,” was published in 2021.
Dr. Raul Camposano
Chief Technology Officer
Raúl Camposano, Ph.D., has served as Silvaco’s Chief Technology Officer since February 2022. Dr. Camposano has served as a partner at Silicon Catalyst LLC, an incubator for semiconductor solutions, since April 2015 and as a lecturer on EDA and Machine Learning Hardware at Stanford since April 2018. From July 2020 to January 2022, Dr. Camposano served as an advisor to Applied Materials, Inc., a semiconductor equipment company. From August 2015 to July 2020, Dr. Camposano served as Chief Executive Officer of Sage Design Automation, Ltd., a software tools company acquired by Applied Materials in 2020. From November 2010 to May 2014, Dr. Camposano served as Chief Executive Officer of Nimbic, Inc., an EDA cloud company, acquired by Mentor Graphics Corporation in 2014. From January 1994 to January 2007, Dr. Camposano served in various roles at Synopsys, an EDA solutions company, including as its Chief Technology Officer, Senior Vice President, and General Manager. Prior to that, Dr. Camposano served on the board of directors of the German National Research Center for Computer Science, as a professor of computer science at the University of Paderborn, and as a Research Staff Member at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. Dr. Camposano received a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from Universidad de Chile and a Ph.D. in computer science from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Dr. Camposano was elected as a Fellow of the IEEE in 1999 and to serve on the board of directors of ESDA, the EDA Consortium, in 2012.
Ryan Benton
Chief Financial Officer
Ryan Benton has served as Silvaco’s Chief Financial Officer since August 2023. Before joining Silvaco, Mr. Benton has served as Chief Financial Officer for several public companies. From July 2020 to July 2023 Mr. Benton served as Chief Financial Officer of Tempo Automation. Prior to that from September 2018 to July 2020, Mr. Benton served as Chief Financial Officer of Revasum. From August 2017 to September 2018, Mr. Benton served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for BrainChip Holdings Ltd., a publicly listed AI software and chip solution provider and developer of neuromorphic circuits. From 2012 to August 2017, Mr. Benton held multiple positions at Exar Corporation, a fabless semiconductor chip manufacturer (“Exar”), including as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2012 through 2016 and Chief Executive Officer and Executive Board Member from 2016 until the sale of Exar to Maxlinear, Inc. in May 2017. From 1993 to 2012, Mr. Benton worked at several technology companies including ASMI and eFunds Corporation. Mr. Benton has served on several public company boards, including serving as an Independent Director and Audit Committee Chair. He started his career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen & Company in 1991. Mr. Benton received a B.A. of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin, and he passed the State of Texas Certified Public Accountancy exam.
Ian Chen
Chief Revenue Officer
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 industry-leading 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.
Farhad Hayat
VP of Global Marketing
Farhad Hayat is Vice President of Global Marketing chartered with defining, driving, and promoting Silvaco’s leadership in the TCAD, Custom IC and IP markets. Key areas of responsibility include strategic planning, corporate marketing, product marketing, market research, brand management, corporate communications, and ecosystem alliance programs.
Farhad joined Silvaco in January 2020 with 20+ years of experience in strategic marketing, corporate communication, product management and business development in Electronic Design Automation market. Most recently he led marketing at Synopsys for Analog/Mixed-signal simulation and Custom IC design products. Before that he held various senior marketing positions at LogicVision, Synopsys and Cadence.
Farhad holds a BSEE and MSEE from university of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Ben Louie
VP and GM of IP Business Unit
Ben Louie is Vice President and General Manager of the IP Business Unit responsible for managing all semiconductor design IP. He has over 22 years of experience in Memory design encompassing NOR Flash, NAND Flash, and MRAM. Before joining Silvaco, Ben made significant contributions to semiconductor startups such as Spin Memory, Zeno Semiconductor, and MagSil. His expertise also extends to established industry players, having worked at Micron Technology and Xilinx. At Micron Technology, Ben led the Design team in the transition from NOR flash to NAND flash and was the design lead/manager for their first NAND products. Ben holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University. He has been issued 123 US Patents.
Jeff Elias
VP of Business Development
Jeff Elias collaborates with our strategic and innovative clients to ensure that Silvaco and its products effectively tackle their development challenges. He served as the Vice President and General Manager of the IP Business Unit from December 2019 to December 2023. He has more than 20 years of global experience in semiconductors, systems, and software as a sales and marketing executive, with positions at Transpacific IP Group, Spin Transfer Technologies, FSA Technologies, SIVRAL, Foveon, and MOSAID. Jeff holds a BSEE from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Leavy School of Business, Santa Clara University.
Dan FitzPatrick
VP and GM of EDA Business Unit
Dan FitzPatrick is Vice President and General Manager of the EDA Business Unit. He is responsible for managing the development of all EDA tools including analog custom design and verification, circuit simulation and SPICE modeling, standard cell layout generation and characterization and SIP management tools. Dan joined Silvaco in 2021, leading SIP management, standard cell layout generation and characterization product lines. Dan has an extensive EDA background and many years of experience in software development and product management from startups to fortune 500 companies. Dan holds a MSEE from the University of Florida and an MBA from the University of Central Florida.
Dr. Eric Guichard
SVP and GM of TCAD Business Unit
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.
Brian Bradburn
SVP of Global Operations
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.
Carrie Allegretti
SVP of Global Human Resources
As Senior Vice President of Global Human Resources, Carrie is responsible for all human resources policies, programs, and services for Silvaco’s global organization. She brings over 25 years of human resources leadership and business experience in diverse industries, including high tech. She has notable experience in strategic human resource planning, performance management, employee benefits, compensation and payroll, training and development, and management coaching.
Carrie was most recently Vice President of Human Resources at LEV Group where she directed all HR initiatives and played a pivotal role in the company’s technology transformation, while she also drove a corporate focus on leadership and performance development. Before LEV Group, she was in various senior human resources leadership roles ranging from Director of Human Resources to Senior Humans Resources Manager in enterprises in various stages of business development, from startups to established global leaders.
Carrie holds a Bachelor’s in Philosophy from California State University, San Jose, and a Master’s in Public Administration (Human Resources) from Rutgers University.
Candace Jackson
SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
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.