News

19 August 2008

 

SemiSouth promotes Roberts from COO to CEO

SemiSouth Laboratories Inc of Austin, TX, USA, which designs and manufactures SiC-based discrete electronic power devices and epiwafers, has appointed Kenney Roberts as president and CEO. Roberts was previously chief operating officer since joining the firm in February.

Picture: SemiSouth’s new CEO Kenney Roberts.

“Kenney has helped drive significant advances in SemiSouth’s operational performance, and we’re confident that under Kenney’s leadership the company is going to continue to grow and reach higher levels of performance,” says board member Don Mundie.

Roberts has over 30 years of experience in the high-tech industry, spanning both large public-traded corporations as well as venture-backed start-ups.

He started his career at Mostek Corp in 1974, commercializing next-generation dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips. He joined Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in 1983 and led the technology transition from NMOS to CMOS. In 1988, he became the director of engineering for AMD’s Embedded Processor Division and ramped many next-generation processors to high-volume production. In 1993, he joined Crystal Semiconductor as VP of operations and established a manufacturing engine that propelled Crystal to become the world’s largest mix-signal producer. He later assumed the role of senior VP of worldwide operations for Crystal’s parent company Cirrus Logic and led its operations effort, becoming the fastest fabless semiconductor firm to achieve $1bn in revenue.

Roberts has since guided several venture-backed high-tech startups. He was president & CEO of Colorado MicroDisplay, COO of Layer N Networks, and president & CEO of TeraVicta Technologies.

Founder and chief technology officer Jeff Casady adds that Roberts has a strong mix of business, engineering and operating skills. “Kenney’s expertise of commercializing new products has been proven over a vast array of technologies. As SemiSouth penetrates the solar, SMPS [switched-mode power supply] and HEV [hybrid electric vehicles] markets, Kenney’s leadership will be invaluable.”

Roberts holds a BSEE from the University of Texas at Arlington.

See related items:

AFRL awards SemiSouth $4.9m ‘Task Order 3’ for SiC development

SemiSouth’s E-mode SiC JFETs boost solar inverter efficiency

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