Dr. Susumu Kohyama Joins Sonics’ Advisory Board
New Advisory Board Member Brings Significant Semiconductor Experience
Milpitas, Calif., - July 16, 2008 - Sonics Inc., a premier supplier of system-on-chip (SoC) SMART Interconnect solutions, today announced that Covalent Materials Corp. president and CEO, Susumu Kohyama, Ph.D., has joined the company’s advisory board. Dr. Kohyama brings with him more than three decades of experience in the semiconductor industry. With his considerable experience, he will be an asset to Sonics to ensure the company continues to provide solutions that are leading-edge and relevant to companies throughout the world.
Dr. Kohyama joined Toshiba’s Research and Development Center in 1969. After holding several senior management roles, he served as the entire corporation’s chief strategy officer from 1998 to 2001. He has also served as chief technology officer for Toshiba’s Electronic Devices Group, which focuses on semiconductors. In 2004, he assumed his current position. Dr. Kohyama has led Covalent Materials Corp. through growth and strategic developments including changing its name from Toshiba Ceramics Co. Ltd. in 2007.
In addition to his corporate leadership role, Dr. Kohyama is the chair of VLSI Symposia Executive Committee, representing Japan and Asia, as well as a member of the board of directors of Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI).
“A visionary and technology leader in the semiconductor space, Dr. Kohyama brings a wealth of experience in semiconductor technology, processor technology, SoC design and consumer electronics that can help guide Sonics in product development and business development worldwide,” said Sonics CEO Grant Pierce. “Sonics will greatly benefit from his knowledge and experience.”
“I have been an advocate of Sonics’ technologies and products for over five years, and have personally seen the substantial benefits that companies can derive from adopting Sonics’ solutions for their complex SoCs,” said Dr. Kohyama. “As increasing levels of voice, data and video processing appear in larger numbers of consumer devices, the level of SoC complexity increases as does the need for Sonics’ solutions. My role on Sonics’ advisory board will be to provide a customer-centric viewpoint on the challenges faced by design teams integrating continuously increasing functionality into their SoCs.”
About Sonics
Sonics, Inc. is a premier supplier of SMART Interconnect solutions that deliver high SoC design predictability and increased design efficiency. Major semiconductor and systems companies including Broadcom, Samsung, Texas Instruments and Toshiba have applied Sonics’ SMART Interconnect solutions in leading products in the wireless, digital multimedia and communications markets. Sonics is a privately-held company funded by Cadence Design Systems, Toshiba Corporation, Samsung Ventures and venture capital firms Investar Capital, TL Ventures, Smart Technology Ventures, and Easton Hunt Capital, among others. For more information, see www.sonicsinc.com.
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