Laith Altimime, President, SEMI Europe
Biography
Laith Altimime, as President of SEMI Europe, leads SEMI’s activities in Europe and the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Altimime has P&L responsibility as well as ownership of all Europe region programs and events, including SEMICON Europa. He is responsible for establishing industry standards, advocacy, community development, expositions, and programs. He provides support and services to SEMI members worldwide that have supply chain interests in Europe. He manages and nurtures relationships with SEMI members in the region and globally, as well as with local associations and constituents in industry, government, and academia. Altimime has more than 30 years of international experience in the semiconductor industry. Prior to joining SEMI in 2015, He held senior leadership positions at NEC, KLA-Tencor, Infineon, Qimonda, and imec. Altimime holds an MSc from Heriot-Watt University, Scotland.
James Amano, Sr. Director, EHS, SEMI
Biography
James Amano is Senior Director, EHS, at SEMI. After leading the SEMI International Standards Program for nearly 10 years, he launched the SEMI Sustainability Initiative in 2021, and is now focused on EHS regulations and supply chain issues.
Before joining SEMI, he worked as the Silicon Valley sales engineer for Matsusada Precision and as a trade specialist for the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). He holds degrees in Economics and Environmental Conservation from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Pushkar P. Apte, Strategic Technology Advisor, SEMI
Biography
Dr. Apte leads the Global Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI) Initiative and serves as Strategic Technology Advisor at SEMI, the electronics industry consortium representing 3800+ companies worldwide. His work focuses on the synergy between semiconductors & AI – specifically on building energy-efficient AI systems, and on the application of AI-powered digital twins for mission-critical applications like semiconductor R&D and manufacturing.
Dr. Apte received his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University in Materials Science and Electrical Engineering, and his Bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi, India in Ceramic Engineering. Dr. Apte also holds an Executive M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.
Dr. Apte has worked with Texas Instruments Incorporated on cutting-edge research and technology development for semiconductors; with McKinsey & Company where he helped launch their Semiconductor Practice and served as the Global Semiconductor Business Expert, and with the Semiconductor Industry Association as Vice President of Technology. Dr. Apte has also served as Director of Strategic Initiatives at the University of California, Berkeley, where he developed industry-academic partnerships to implement AI-driven solutions for sustainable growth.
Dr. Apte has 60+ publications and presentations in prestigious international journals, conferences, and institutions, including several Invited Papers. He received the Norman Hackerman Young Author Award from the Electrochemical Society for Best Paper in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society, and the Graduate Student Award from the Materials Research Society for Outstanding Research Performance. Dr. Apte also holds 2 U.S. Patents.
Bas Bongers, Director, Sustainable Manufacturing, NXP Semiconductors
Biography
Bas Bongers (1965) is a seasoned automotive and semiconductor executive with over 35 years of international experience leading manufacturing, quality, and sustainability organizations. As NXP Director of Sustainable Manufacturing, he is now responsible for key strategic initiatives in emissions reduction, water stewardship, and PFAS management. Having led quality operations at major wafer fabrication facilities in both Europe and the United States, Bas brings a unique perspective on balancing operational excellence, business performance, and sustainability.
Karine Herviou, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, IAEA
Biography
Karine Herviou was appointed IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security on 16 June 2025. Ms Herviou brings over three decades of leadership and expertise in nuclear safety, emergency preparedness and response, and international regulatory collaboration.
Prior to her current appointment, Ms Herviou was the Deputy Director General of the French Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ASNR), where she oversaw safety review and R&D for France’s civil nuclear activities. Her career is marked by strategic leadership in nuclear safety, crisis management, and innovation in safety oversight.
Ms Herviou has led major safety reviews across a wide spectrum of nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors, fuel cycle facilities, and life extension of nuclear facilities. She has also played a pivotal role in shaping national emergency preparedness and response strategies.
From 2020 to 2024, she served as Deputy Director General of the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN). During this tenure, she enhanced synergies between safety research and expertise, which also addressed the integration of artificial intelligence into these two areas.
Her earlier roles include Director of New Reactors and Safety Approaches at IRSN (2017–2020), where she chaired key OECD/NEA and European Technical Safety Organisations Network (ETSON) working groups on advanced reactors and championed systemic safety methodologies that integrated human and organizational factors.
Ms Herviou also served as Head of IRSN’s New Reactors Department (2012–2016) and led the safety review of the Flamanville EPR project (2009–2016). Notably, she contributed to France’s first post-accident policy and played a central role in emergency response development during her leadership of IRSN’s Emergency Preparedness Division (2003–2009).
She holds an Advanced Graduate Degree in Nuclear Engineering and an MSc in Nuclear Reactor Physics from INSTN Saclay, France, as well as a Master’s in Physics from the University of Paris XI – Orsay.
Shari Liss, VP, Global Workforce Development & Initiatives, SEMI
Biography
Shari Liss leads global workforce development and strategic initiatives for SEMI. With more than 25 years of experience in workforce development and technology education, she oversees initiatives supporting the semiconductor ecosystem and SEMI’s global network of 4,000+ companies.
Under her leadership, SEMI has launched major national and international workforce initiatives, secured transformative funding, and strengthened efforts to expand talent pathways and elevate awareness of careers in microelectronics.
Ajit Manocha, President and CEO, SEMI
Biography
Ajit Manocha is the president and CEO of SEMI, the global industry association serving the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing and design supply chain. Throughout his career, Manocha has been a champion of industry collaboration as a critical means of advancing technology for societal and economic prosperity.
In his leadership role at SEMI, Manocha has broadened the association’s scope to fuel industry growth and foster collaboration on challenges such as geopolitical and sustainability concerns, the talent gap and supply chain disruptions. He has driven SEMI to evolve with the global microelectronics ecosystem as it rapidly expands to support smarter, connected applications based on artificial intelligence, machine learning and other disruptive technologies.
Manocha was formerly CEO at GlobalFoundries. Prior to this, he held the role of Executive VP of worldwide operations at Spansion and earlier served as Executive VP and chief manufacturing officer (chief operations officer) at Philips Semiconductors. He began his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories as a research scientist and was granted more than a dozen patents related to semiconductor manufacturing processes that served as the foundation for modern microelectronics manufacturing. He has served on the boards of SEMI, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA).
Manocha has overseen the formation of more than 20 joint ventures and M&As over his career. Out of these, some of the most noteworthy are the manufacturing JV between AT&T and Cirrus Logic, the foundry JV SSMC between Philips Semiconductors and TSMC, the back-end JV Suzhou ASEN Semiconductors between Philips Semiconductors and ASE, and the spinoff of Philips Semiconductors (now NXP Semiconductors) from Royal Philips Electronics.
Manocha served on President Obama’s committees for “Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships” and the President’s Council of Advisors on Science & Technology (PCAST).
Manocha holds the rare distinction of being inducted into two Hall of Fames. In 2021, VLSIresearch (now TechInsights) added Manocha to its Semiconductor Industry Hall of Fame for his leadership of SEMI efforts to address geopolitical trade tensions as well as for his initiative in navigating the many challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic impacting SEMI and the microelectronics industry. In 2020, Manocha was inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame, and VLSI Research named him an “All Star of the Semiconductor Industry” for his visionary leadership in 2019 to restructure SEMI to represent the electronics supply chain.
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