Board Members
Larry Blackledge
Chairman of the Board
Larry Blackledge has more than 30 years of semiconductor industry experience including most recently as CEO of Active-Semi International, a programmable analog power and motor drive IC semiconductor company purchased by Qorvo in May 2019. Prior to that he spent 22 years at Texas Instruments (TI) most recently as General Manager and Vice President of a $400M mixed-signal IC business. Larry has spent over a decade in Asia as CEO of Active-Semi International as well as managing TI’s businesses. He has guided numerous successful merger and acquisition events. Since 2007, Larry is also a Business Management Advisor to numerous US & Asian technology companies including The Longreach Group, a private equity firm in Asia. Larry holds an MBA in Marketing & Management from Amber University (Abilene Christian), and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Engineering from Southern Illinois University. He has also studied Japanese language at the Japan Language Institute in Tokyo.
John Olson
Board Member
John Olson has more than 30 years of experience in the semiconductor industry with a background in executive business management and semiconductor quality/reliability. John Olson has been the President of Microtech Laboratories for over 20 years, which provides comprehensive failure analysis services and reverse engineering services to the semiconductor industry. He sold Microtech Laboratories in July 2023 to Serma Technologies, a leading provider of materials and failure analysis services in Europe. Prior to starting Microtech Laboratories he worked at Texas Instruments where he held several positions managing the yield improvement activities for the mixed signal business unit, worked in strategic marketing/pricing and his last position was managing the (VOIP) voice over IP handset business unit.
John holds a Bachelor of Sceince degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Oklahoma and holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to graduation he also served 7 years in the U.S. Army Reserves working in surgery in a field evacuation hospital and served in Operation Desert Storm under the 18th Airborne Corps.
Marco Villa
Board Member
Marco Villa has 25+ years of exceptional performance as system engineer, manager, director and executive. He established SpaceX’s mission operations team and enabled Dragon’s missions to the International Space Station. While at Tyvak and Terran Orbital, Marco covered multiple executive roles fostering the company’s growth in the US and European markets. Marco has firsthand knowledge of the transition of space activities to the private sector, and is a skilled developer of medium and long-term vision for aerospace organizations, with direct involvement toward tactical objectives and strategy definitions. An investor himself, he is known for his entrepreneurial attitude and understanding on how to generate value through appropriate evolution of an organization’s leadership, services and partnerships through its life cycle.
Rachel Lovejoy
Board Member
Rachel Lovejoy has almost 30 years of experience working with technology companies, leading the resolution of complex issues in intellectual property, technology transactions, global supply chain, security and confidentiality, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. Rachel is currently Senior Counsel and Chief IP Counsel at Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX), where among other things, she established and manages a global IP portfolio to protect all aspects of SpaceX’s business, advises on legal and business aspects of SpaceX’s chip development and supply chain, and negotiates complex technology transactions, including for space launch services, astronaut medical research, and satellite conjunction screening. Prior to joining SpaceX in early 2014, she worked for IBM for 11 years in various roles in San Francisco, New York, Dubai and Sao Paulo. Earlier in her career, she worked in Silicon Valley with high-tech startups, both in private practice and in-house, and served as an officer in the US Army Reserve.
Rachel received a bachelor’s degree with a major in Government and a minor in Science, Technology and Values from the University of Notre Dame, and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
David Briggs
Chief Executive Officer
David Briggs has 34 years of semiconductor industry experience ranging from design to global business management. Mr. Briggs spent 20 years at Texas Instruments where he held various technical and business roles starting as an analog designer and finishing his career at Texas Instrument as the General Manager of the Analog Wireless Infrastructure Business Unit, driving 300% revenue growth over a 5-year period. Upon his departure from Texas Instruments, Mr. Briggs lead several startups until joining Active-Semi, Inc. as the General Manager and VP of Sales and Marketing. His leadership at Active-Semi, Inc. resulted in 300% revenue growth over a 5-year period and was instrumental in driving the company’s successful acquisition by Qorvo. David received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Clarkson University and a master’s degree in business administration from The University of Texas, Austin. David has 12 patents issued in the areas of semiconductor devices, ESD structures, and circuits.