News: Optoelectronics
22 July 2024
Sivers appoints Vickram Vathulya as president & CEO
Sivers Semiconductors AB of Kista, Sweden (which supplies integrated chips and photonics modules for communications and sensor solutions) appointed Dr Vickram Vathulya as president & CEO, succeeding Anders Storm from 19 August.
Sivers comments that Vathulya has over 25 years of experience in the semiconductor industry with a track record in building strategically sound businesses while navigating complex market dynamics to lead Sivers through its next phase of growth, leveraging his senior leadership experience, network and understanding of the semiconductor industry to drive Sivers’ strategic initiatives worldwide.
Vathulya was most recently president of Nuvotronics. Prior to that, he revitalized the standard products business at Maxim Semiconductors, the largest and most profitable business in the company portfolio. His experience also includes other executive leadership roles, such as growing RF and wireless businesses at Maxim Integrated and NXP Semiconductors. Vathulya has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Berkeley Haas School of Business, University of California.
“Vickram’s leadership qualities and industry expertise are exactly what Sivers was looking for in this CEO appointment in order to accelerate our aggressive growth strategy in the US and worldwide,” comments Dr Bami Bastani, who was appointed chairman of the board in February. “His proven ability to deliver profitable growth and build high-performance teams will be invaluable as we aim to cement our position as a leader in advanced semiconductor and photonic solutions,” he adds.
“Our portfolio of RF products for Satcom and 5G systems and optical products for AI computing and sensing demonstrates the truly cutting-edge capability Sivers brings to the market,” comments Vathulya. “With several marquee customers recently selecting Sivers for their solutions, I am confident the company is on the cusp of remarkable growth and shareholder value creation.”
Sivers says that it is gaining market momentum in SATCOM, 5G and AI photonics. During the first six months of 2024 the firm announced multiple new customer wins, including two major satellite communication deals worth $7.6m and a $1.3m collaboration with a strategic customer to develop photonic chipsets for AI solutions. During 2023 the company grew net revenue by 80%, and continues to see significant growth in product revenue in 2024.
Sivers is implementing a new incentive plan, including stock option grants. Vathulya has made a commitment to buy and/or subscribe to 2 million shares up to $1m, subject to approval of the plan at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM).
Sivers Semiconductors announces resignation of CEO Anders Storm
