Mihir
Parikh, President and Chief Executive Officer
Michael Brain,
Vice President of Technology and Marketing
Mark Mesler, Vice
President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Brian Compian,
Vice President of Business Development
Jaideep Jain,
Vice President of Software and Solutions Barry Kitazumi,
Chief Engineer. Debbie
Partridge, Director, Human Resources Josui Nashimoto,
Japan Operations Bruce Liao, Vice President, General Manager, Aquest Taiwan Frank Liu, Sr. Director of Engineering and Manufacturing Operations, Aquest Taiwan Kris Swamy, Senior
Director of Software Development Richard Chee, Vice-President of Supply Chain Management – Asia-Pacific, UNITED STATES Mihir Parikh,
Ph.D. Mihir Parikh founded Aquest and serves as the company’s president and chief executive officer (CEO). Before Aquest, Dr. Parikh founded Asyst Technologies in 1984 where he served as president and CEO until 1992 when he was named chairman and CEO. Under his leadership, Asyst achieved record revenues of ~ $500M with Asyst’s products becoming essentially a standard for all IC manufacturing. He stepped down as CEO in August 2002 and as Chairman & Director in March 2003. Earlier, Dr. Parikh held various
engineering management positions at Hewlett-Packard (HP) and
International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation.
Minienvironment and Standard Mechanical InterFace (SMIF) technology
were first developed under his engineering leadership during his
stint at Hewlett-Packard. Dr. Parikh has received several industry recognitions. He was inducted to the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame in 2002, and was the recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of California, Berkeley for his visionary leadership in the development of advanced semiconductor manufacturing environments. He also received the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) Award for his significant contributions to the semiconductor industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree in
engineering physics and a doctorate in engineering science from the
University of California, Berkeley. He was a former chairman
and organizer of the ECS Symposium on automated IC manufacturing.
Michael Brain Michael Brain joined Aquest as vice president of technology and marketing with responsibility for the definition, strategic planning and marketing of all company products and services. He brings more than 25 years of experience developing and marketing automation products in the semiconductor industry. Prior to Aquest, Mr. Brain held various executive engineering and marketing roles at Asyst Technologies, HP and National Semiconductor. As a project leader at National Semiconductor and HP Laboratories, he developed and deployed manufacturing automation software. At Asyst Technologies, he led the development and marketing of automated material identification and SMIF material handling systems that are used by most fabs worldwide. Mr. Brain received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Cincinnati. He has published numerous technical papers and holds six U.S. patents in the field of semiconductor manufacturing automation.
Mark Mesler Mark Mesler joined Aquest as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer with responsibility for the company’s finance, accounting and management information systems. He brings over 15 years of financial management experience in global, high-tech companies, as well as privately held firms. Mark came from KLA-Tencor Corporation, where he held various financial leadership positions. Most recently he was as a director of finance overseeing the company’s international finance operations in Asia and the United States. Prior to KLA-Tencor, Mark was a key member behind more than 20 acquisitions at Black Box Network Services. He has also served as vice president of business development at a major printing and document services business. Mark started his career at Electronics Data Systems (EDS) Corporation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in business administration from Carnegie Mellon University.
Brian Compian Brian Compian joined Aquest in 2004, bringing with him more than 15 years of semiconductor industry experience. In Brian’s current role as Vice President, Business Development, he is responsible for managing business relationships and key programs. Prior to Aquest, Brian held various management positions at Asyst Technologies as the Product Manager for multiple product lines (including the Semiconductor Industries first 200mm SMIF wafer sorter product line) and the market leading auto-ID product line. In these product management roles, he was responsible for all aspects including customer engagement, new technologies, and complete product life cycle management. Brian spent several years as the Director of the Strategic Global Account Team at Asyst and successfully integrated several automation products into the world’s largest IC manufacturer. In this role he led the qualification of a new manufacturing plant for production of 300mm FOUPS. He also worked, in the early stages of 300mm automation. Prior to Asyst, Brian worked for Empak where he managed the Auto-ID product line.
Jaideep Jain Jaideep Jain joined Aquest as vice president, software and solutions. Jaideep is responsible for managing and directing all aspects of Aquest’s global software development, electrical / controls, systems engineering and integration. Jaideep is a seasoned leader with over 15 years of experience in managing software engineering & controls technology in the semiconductor industry. Before joining Aquest, Jaideep was a Sr. Director at Novellus Systems where he managed a global software and controls organization. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Osmania University, India and a master’s degree in computer science from Kansas State University. He has received many awards for outstanding performance, holds one patent plus two more patents pending.
Barry Kitazumi Barry Kitazumi joined Aquest as chief engineer with responsibility for research, development and engineering worldwide. He brings more than 16 years of semiconductor industry experience to the company. Before joining Aquest, Mr. Kitazumi was director of engineering at Mattson Technology. He also held various positions at Watkins Johnson, AG Associates and Novellus Systems. Mr. Kitazumi is an experienced engineering manager who has successfully built motivated, results-oriented teams. He has a proven track record of designing and bringing new products to market. Mr. Kitazumi earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and materials engineering from San Jose State University. As a holder of several patents, he has vast experience with wafer handling systems, gas and liquid distribution systems, and vacuum chamber design.
Debbie Partridge Debbie Partridge has 30 years of Human Resources experience, with over 18 years in a leadership role within the semiconductor industry. Prior to joining Aquest, Debbie’s previous employment includes various recruiting firms, Xerox Corporation and Asyst Technologies. Debbie’s global HR experience includes employment, performance management, employee relations, compensation/benefits, career development and training, organizational and succession planning, policy and procedures development, M&A activities, federal and California State law, facilities and general office management. In 2000, Debbie was one of 40 women recognized as Women of Achievement in Silicon Valley for making a substantial impact on her organization relative to its growth, profitability, motivation and innovation.
JAPAN Josui Nashimoto Josui Nashimoto joined Aquest as
general manager of the company’s Japan operations. Prior to Aquest, Mr. Nashimoto was the president of Asyst Japan, Inc. managing its Nagoya Technology Center and Japan operations. He was also intimately involved in negotiations to establish Asyst Shinko Inc. in Japan in 2002, and served as that company’s chairman until 2003. Mr. Nashimoto holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Chuo University.
TAIWAN Bruce Liao Bruce Liao joined Aquest as general manager of the company’s Taiwan operations. He brings more than 15 years of semiconductor automation experience to Aquest. Before Aquest, Mr. Liao was the general manager of Asyst Taiwan where he was responsible for establishing operations throughout Asia and managing the company’s $1B Asian automation market. Prior to Asyst, he was the fab equipment engineer at United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC). Mr. Liao holds a master’s degree in engineering management from National Tsing-Hua University.
Frank Liu Frank Liu joined Aquest as director of engineering. He brings 12 years of product development and management experience to the company. Before joining Aquest, Mr. Liu was R&D manager at YCM (the top machining center maker in Taiwan) and was responsible for product development, integration and application. Mr. Liu earned a bachelor and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from National Taiwan University.
INDIA Kris Swamy Kris Swamy joined Aquest as senior director of software development with responsibility for global software development leveraging software teams in the U.S., India and Taiwan. He brings more than 20 years of semiconductor industry experience to Aquest. Before Aquest, Mr. Swamy served numerous software development roles at Asyst Technologies, where he also championed the establishment of a software development center in India. Mr. Swamy received a bachelor’s degree
in chemistry from Madurai University, a master’s degree in computer
science from Boston University and a master’s degree in business
administration from the University of Massachusetts.
SINGAPORE Richard
Chee Richard Chee joined Aquest as vice president, supply chain management – Asia-Pacific, located in Singapore. Richard has worldwide experience in manufacturing and service operations including Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and China. Before joining Aquest, Richard held executive, leadership roles with companies including Quantum, Western Digital, UMS and Beyonics Technology. Richard has in-depth experience integrating global organizations and effectively executing high-tech, high-volume manufacturing, with focused attention in supply-chain management, operational sales support, quality and engineering functions. Richard holds a Masters of Business Administration from
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