2025 European Executive Forum

Andreas Urschitz

Chief Marketing Officer and Member of the Management Board

Infineon Technologies

Andreas Urschitz has been a member of the Management Board and Chief Marketing Officer of Infineon Technologies AG since 2022 (appointed until 31 May 2030).

Andreas Urschitz was born in 1972 in Klagenfurt, Austria. He obtained his master’s degree in commercial science at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. He has been with Infineon (Siemens AG until 1999) since 1995.

Bart Placklé

Vice President, Automotive Technologies

imec

Bart started his career at Acunia, an imec spinoff, where he advanced to become the general manager of the hardware business unit.  In 2004, Bart joined Intel, and as chief architect and later automotive CTO, he led the development of high-performance automotive solutions, driving Intel’s automotive segment to become a multibillion-dollar business. Bart received the Intel Achievement Award in 201,6 and in 2021, Bart was appointed as the CTO of AXG Mobility-as-a-Service at Intel.  In 2023, Bart returned to imec, assuming the role of vice president of automotive technologies.

Bart Placklé holds a Master of Science degree and a postgraduate degree in telecommunications from the University of Hasselt (Belgium) and imec (Leuven, Belgium), respectively. He also obtained a postgraduate degree in executive business economics from KU Leuven (Belgium).

Bob Brennan

Vice President & GM, Customer Solutions Engineering, Intel Foundry Services

Intel

Bob Brennan is Vice President of Customer Solutions Engineering for Intel Foundry Services at Intel Corporation. He is responsible for leading the delivery of end-to-end design solutions to help IFS customers use Intel’s portfolio of unique IPs and design technology in their product designs.

In his previous role, Bob served as Vice President of Emerging Memory & System at Micron, where he managed product, design, and engineering teams to accelerate the delivery of new designs on new technologies. Bob also served as Senior Vice President of Memory Solutions Lab at Samsung. Prior to these roles, Bob spent 22 years at Intel serving in various senior technical positions, including Server Architecture, Laptop Architecture, Mobile SoC Architecture, and CPU Core Design, Verification and Architecture.

Christoph Grote

Senior Vice President, Electronics and Software

BMW Group

Christoph has been with BMW Group in Munich since 1997, bridging innovation and delivery. Throughout his career, he has led developments in batteries, fuel cells, cockpit systems, and information technology. Since 2014, he has served as Senior Vice President since 2014, overseeing research, advanced technologies, and innovation across global offices. In 2022, became the Senior Vice President of Electronics and Software, focusing on digital connectivity, software platforms, and automotive technology stacks. Passionate about in-car digital experiences, Christoph continues to push technological boundaries to enhance BMW’s next-generation automotive electronics.

Christoph has a PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge and he began his career at McKinsey before joining BMW AG.

Christophe Nicolas

Senior Vice President, GTM Core Security Solutions and Group Chief Information Officer

Kudelski Group

Christophe is the Senior Vice President of GTM Core Security Solutions and Group Chief Information Officer at Kudelski Group. He has been with the company since 1996, holding various leadership roles within Nagracard and Nagravision and as the Founder of Kudelski Security. As a member of the Management Board, he leads the GTM team for Nagravision’s Core Security Solutions, overseeing security IP products, security labs, and device lifecycle management solutions.

As Group CIO, he is responsible for shaping the company’s overall information strategy, driving cloud strategic partnerships, leading enterprise digital transformation initiatives, and ensuring corporate security. Additionally, he oversees the Corporate Real Estate portfolio strategy for the Group.

He holds both a BSc and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, as well as an MBA with honors from IMD, Lausanne. A dedicated professional in the field of technology and security, he is also a member of the IEEE Computer Group.

Christopher Thomas

Chairman and Founder

Integrated Insights

Chris Thomas is the founder of Integrated Insights, advising Boards, Chairpersons, and CEOs of global companies. He is a Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University, a Senior Fellow at Brookings, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Previously, Chris was a Partner at McKinsey, leading global practices in semiconductors, digital strategy, and IoT. He also spent a decade at Intel, serving as GM of Intel China, where he grew revenues by over 50% and led a $5B+ P&L. He held multiple executive roles, contributing $20B+ in revenue.

Chris began his career at Blackstone and has served on the board of Velodyne. Recognized as a global semiconductor expert, he was named a national-level foreign expert by China’s State Council. He holds degrees from Stanford and Wharton.

Geoffrey Lee

Vice President, Europe, Middle East, Africa

Siemens Digital Industries Software

Geoff Lee started his career at Mentor Graphics/Siemens in 1999, where he was part of the team that successfully launched the Calibre EDA solution into the semiconductor market. Between 2001 and 2019, Geoff held several senior account management roles across Europe before moving to lead the Strategic Accounts team in 2019, focused on the largest customers globally. In January 2024, he became the Vice President EMEA at Siemens EDA, responsible for leading the business across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Geoff is passionate about technology, inspiring people, thought leadership and leading by example

Geoff holds a BEng Honour’s degree in Electronic & Electrical engineering from Robert Gordons University, a Diploma in Marketing from Henley Business School and an MBA from Henley/Reading University.

Georges Karam

President & CEO

Sequans Communications

Georges has served as the chairman of the board and chief executive officer since the company was founded in 2003. Before founding Sequans, Dr. Karam was vice president of cable access at Juniper Networks, running the cable engineering and marketing departments and managing the cable sales launch in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. He joined Juniper Networks when the company acquired Pacific Broadband Communications (PBC), where he was vice president of engineering and general manager for Europe. Dr. Karam has served in a variety of senior management positions at Alcatel, SAGEM and Philips.

He is a senior member of IEEE, has authored numerous technical and scientific papers and holds several patents in digital communications. Dr. Karam holds a PhD in signal processing and communication theory from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications, Paris.

Guido D'Hert

Managing Director, Global Semiconductors Industry Lead

Accenture

Guido is the Managing Director and global semiconductor lead at Accenture, bringing over 25 years of experience in guiding high-tech companies through strategy pivots and market disruptions. He focuses on enabling digital transformation via emerging technologies like big data, AI, and hyper-automation. His mission is to create value for clients, partners, and teams by delivering innovative solutions to complex challenges.

Before Accenture, Guido worked at McKinsey in the Netherlands and Silicon Valley, as well as NXP Semiconductors. Residing in Eindhoven, he enjoys family life with his wife and four children and is dedicated to developing a local “food forest,” a self-sufficient ecosystem of edible plants.

Harald Kroeger

Board Member, Head of Sales, President Automotive

SiMa.ai

Harald Kroeger has been a member of the board, head of sales, and president of automotive for SiMa.ai since January 2023. He previously served on the boards of Tesla and Rivian.

Until December 2021, Mr. Kroeger was a member of the board of management at Bosch, where he was responsible for all automotive operations, excluding powertrain. Prior to that, he spent 21 years at Mercedes-Benz, where he held various positions, including head of purchasing for electrics and electronics, head of quality, and head of development for electrics and electronics in Mercedes-Benz cars.

Mr. Kroeger holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, as well as a Diplom-Ingenieur in Control Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Hannover.

Helmut Gassel

Partner & Co-founder

Silian Partners

Dr Helmut Gassel, Partner & Co-Founder, contributes 30 years of semiconductor industry experience. He served as a member of Infineon’s Management Board as Chief Marketing Officer from 2016 to 2022 with responsibilities encompassing marketing, sales, strategy, and M&A. In this capacity, he led the €9bn acquisition and integration of Cypress Semiconductor and contributed to transform Infineon into a global top 10 semiconductor company.

Prior to joining Infineon in 1995 as a semiconductor design engineer, he worked in semiconductor research at Fraunhofer Institute.

Jens Kahrweg

Senior Vice President & CEO, EMEA

Samsung Semiconductor

Jens Kahrweg is the head of Samsung Semiconductor Europe, Device Solutions division, and oversees EMEA operations of the Memory, System LSI, Foundry, and Display business units. During his career at Samsung, Jens Kahrweg has played a pivotal role in the European subsidiary’s System LSI business success, the overall growth in the automotive segment, and the business development in AI.

As a semiconductor business expert, he has been critical in making Device Solutions Europe a key player in the European System LSI automotive business segment. Under his management and leadership, the European System LSI team won several automotive projects worth a combined $3B+ in revenues over lifetime. Jens Kahrweg’s knowledge and experience have been key to this success.

Joachim Kahmann

Senior Vice President, Purchasing E/E Modules

Stellantis

Joachim Kahmann is the Head of Purchasing for Electric and Electronics at Stellantis. He is globally responsible for sourcing electronic systems and related hardware components, semiconductors, manufacturing services and software IP. In this role he supports the E/E architecture development and the innovation in ADAS and Infotainment at Stellantis, while driving the company´s semiconductor strategy and the direct collaboration with semiconductor partners.

Joachim joined Stellantis in early 2022 after working in the semiconductor industry for more than 20 years. He began his career as a production engineer for automotive gasoline pumps. He holds a degree in production engineering and a PhD in engineering.

Joachim Mathes

CTO, Valeo Brain Division

Valeo

Joachim Mathes started his career at SWF in Germany in 1989 after graduating in electronic engineering from BA Stuttgart. He contributed to the development of ultrasonic sensors and first generation ADAS systems and worked with customers all over the world. Following the acquisition by Valeo, he was nominated Project Management Director.

Subsequently, moving back into R&D, he strengthened Valeo’s technology portfolio through a number of partnerships and acquisitions and led the creation of development centres in several regions, including China.

Since 2019, he has taken the role of CTO for what is today the Valeo Brain Division. His focus is on positioning Valeo in the value chain for software-defined vehicles, strategic planning to manage product innovation and leveraging the power of industry collaborations.

Jochen Hanebeck

CEO

Infineon Technologies

Jochen Hanebeck has been a member of the Management Board of Infineon Technologies AG since 2016. He has been CEO since 2022 (appointed until 31 March 2027).

Jochen Hanebeck was born in 1968 in Dortmund. He received a degree in electrical engineering from RWTH Aachen University.

He has been with Infineon since 1994 (Siemens AG until 1999).

Jodi Shelton

Co-founder & CEO

GSA

Jodi Shelton is the Co-founder and CEO of GSA. A pioneer within the technology space, Shelton was instrumental in the creation of the Alliance and has continuously addressed global issues in the industry as the voice of its members. Under her leadership, GSA has grown its membership to include companies throughout the supply chain representing 30 countries across the globe. In her role as president, Shelton oversees GSA daily operations, ensuring that the Alliance remains focused on achieving its defined mission and goal to foster a more effective ecosystem through collaboration, integration and innovation. She is the key liaison between GSA and the business community at high-level financial and industry conferences, providing insight on key topics pertaining to the global fabless supply chain.

Shelton earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from San Diego State University and her master’s degree in political science from the University of Houston.

Lars Reger

CTO & Executive Vice President

NXP Semiconductors

Lars Reger is executive vice president and chief technology officer for NXP Semiconductors. As CTO, Lars is responsible for managing new business activities and R&D in the automotive, industry 4.0, internet of things (IoT), mobile, connectivity and infrastructure focus markets.

Before joining NXP as head of automotive strategy in 2008, Lars gained deep insight into the microelectronics industry with a focus on the automotive sector. His past roles include head of process and product engineering at Infineon, and head of business development and product management for the connectivity business unit at Continental. In 2012, Lars was appointed CTO of Automotive at NXP and in December 2018, he was appointed NXP’s CTO with responsibility for the overall technology portfolio.

Ondrej Burkacky

Managing Director - Semiconductors

MGX

Ondrej is a Managing Director at MGX, one of the largest private equity investors in AI and advanced technologies based in Abu Dhabi and New York. He leads the semiconductor division, where he drives global investments across the entire semiconductor value chain while working to build a semiconductor ecosystem in the UAE.

Prior to joining MGX, he spent 18 years at McKinsey & Company, serving as a Senior Partner and leading the firm’s Global Semiconductor Practice. Ondrej holds a master’s degree in chemistry and a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Munich (LMU).

Michael Schaffert

Senior Vice President, Engineering E/E Architecture

Robert Bosch

Michael Schaffert is the Senior Vice President at Bosch Semiconductor, overseeing System Engineering since 2022. He joined Bosch in 1998 as a hardware development engineer. He later moved to ETAS GmbH, where he became the Director of Product Management and Development. Upon his return to Bosch, he held leadership roles in vehicle electrical/electronic architecture, customer engineering in Japan, and hardware development for powertrain control. In 2020, he co-founded Bosch’s XC division, where he led Base Software and Middleware development.

Michael studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Stuttgart.

Paul de Bot

President

TSMC EMEA

Mr. Paul de Bot is President of TSMC EMEA. Mr. Paul de Bot joined TSMC in 2015, and after roles in account management, was appointed General Manager EMEA in 2022 and President in 2024, responsible for the TSMC business in Europe and Israel. Mr. Paul de Bot started his career at Philips in the area of video technology, reaching the position of Chief Strategy Officer of the digital TV systems division of Philips. In 2003 he joined Philips Semiconductors (which later became NXP Semiconductors) as Vice President Strategy & Business Development for their consumer, automotive and identification businesses, respectively. Prior to joining TSMC, Mr. Paul de Bot had further executive roles in the software industry and in corporate finance.

Mr. Paul de Bot received his M.S. in EE and Engineering Doctorate in Telecommunications from Eindhoven University of Technology of The Netherlands, and his M.S. in Business Valuation from TIAS Business School of The Netherlands.

Pierre Barnabé

CEO

Soitec

Pierre Barnabé is a businessperson who has been at the helm of 5 different companies and currently occupies the position of Group Chief Executive Officer & Director at Soitec SA, Chairman for Elexo SAS and Chairman of Bull SAS. He is also on the board of Ipsos SA and Bull SA.

In his past career, he occupied the position of Co-CEO & Global Head-Manufacturing Industry at Atos SE and Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Evidian SA (a subsidiary of Atos SE), General Manager for Société Française de Radiotéléphone SA and Vice President-Human Resources & Transformation at Alcatel-Lucent SAS.

He received an undergraduate degree from NEOMA Business School and an undergraduate degree from École supérieure d’électricité.

Richard Price

Co-Founder & CTO

Pragmatic Semiconductor

Richard has over 25 years of experience in the development and commercialization of a wide range of new technologies based on novel processes, materials, and flexible electronics.

He has a BSc and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Durham. He is an inventor or co-inventor on over 25 patent families. Richard is a non-executive director at the Henry Royce Institute, the UK’s National Institute for Advanced Materials Research.

Robert Feurle

CEO

Wolfspeeed

Robert Feurle has been appointed CEO of Wolfspeed, effective May 1, 205. He has led organizations for over 20 years that develop advanced power semiconductor solutions for automotive and other high-voltage applications, including silicon and SiC.
Feurle previously served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Opto Semiconductors Business Unit at AMS Osram AG, where he managed more than 10,000 employees across sites and factories worldwide.
Prior to Ams Osram, he spearheaded new product introductions in IGBT and SiC technologies at Infineon, focusing on competitive differentiation and profitable growth.
A citizen of both the United States and Germany, Feurle will return to the United States, where he previously spent a decade in executive roles at Micron Technology.

Stephanie Dismore

Senior Vice President & Managing Director, EMEA

AMD

Tobias Pröttel

CEO

WSTS

Tobias Pröttel is the Chief Executive Officer of World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), an internationally recognized organization renowned for delivering critical market data and insights in the semiconductor industry. Under his leadership, WSTS provides accurate and timely statistics, aiding stakeholders in making informed decisions. Tobias has a proven track record in the semiconductor sector, demonstrating expertise in market analysis and strategic planning. His commitment to excellence ensures that WSTS remains a trusted source for semiconductor market information.

Vegard Wollan

CEO & President

Nordic Semiconductor

Vegard Wollan was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Nordic Semiconductor in January 2024. He started his career with Nordic VLSI, which later became Nordic Semiconductor. As one of the inventor teams behind the AVR microcontroller technology, Vegard, in 1996, joined Atmel as VP and General Manager of the Touch and MCU Business Unit. Atmel was acquired by Microchip Technology in 2016, and Vegard went on to establish MyWo. In 2021, MyWo was merged into TouchNetix, a global innovation leader in touch technologies, where Vegard was the CEO previous to joining Nordic Semiconductor.

Vegard is based in Trondheim and Oslo, Norway. He holds an M.S. degree from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Trondheim.