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2007 Electrical Engineering Leadership Seminar
This winter quarter seminar series is a unique opportunity for students to hear from some leading executives who all have one thing in common - a degree from the UW EE department! Each week one of these top executives will share their insights on the skills, attributes and approaches that can lead to outstanding careers. This is intended to be a fun and informative seminar that puts our students in touch with professionals in the field they otherwise might not have the opportunity to meet.
Seminars are held in EE1 room 037 from 3:30pm to 5:20pm, unless otherwise noted.
1. Jerome (Jerry) Knoll – BS 1965 EE, BS 1966 IE, MBA 1967, VP, Genie Industries – Jan. 8, 2007
Jerome (Jerry) Knoll is vice president of Redmond-based, Genie Industries, a world leader in the production of material lifts, portable aerial work platforms, scissor lifts, and self-propelled telescopic and articulated booms. The company is active in the College of Engineering's Co-op Program and also recruits engineers from the UW. Before joining Genie, Jerry served in executive leadership positions at a number of local companies, utilizing his extensive expertise in management and finance. Jerry earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and an MBA, all from the UW.
2. F. Paul Carlson, Ph.D. – BS 1960, PhD 1967, President & CEO, Carlson Group – January 22, 2007
Paul Carlson is owner and president of the Carlson Group of companies which focus on business consulting, investments, and engineering. He has extensive experience in business strategy and business development and has been co-founder of several high-technology start-ups. Prior to forming his own consulting firm, Carlson was Vice President, Strategy and Business Development at Honeywell, Inc. in Minneapolis, MN from 1988 to 1991. Between 1977 and 1988 he was President and CEO of Oregon Graduate Institute where he developed the OGC Science Park and OGC Telecom, a telecommunication company. Carlson has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington where he was a Professor for 10 years. Additional graduate studies have been undertaken at the Stanford University Business School, MIT Sloan School and the University of Minnesota Executive Development Programme.
3. John Branch – BS 1991, Partner, Darby & Darby – January 29, 2007
John Branch, Partner at Darby & Darby, a full-service intellectual property law firm, concentrates his practice on the procurement of patent, copyright and trademark rights in the high-tech areas of analog and digital electronics, computer software and hardware, video games, networks, telecommunications, wireless devices and other related technologies. As a registered patent attorney, he also provides client counseling on technology innovation issues such as patent infringement, validity opinions, licensing, due diligence matters, intellectual property aspects of securities offerings and related litigation. Branch is a member of the International Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Computer Society, the Washington Software Association, and participates in Washington Lawyers for the Arts. Branch earned his B.A. in Electrical Engineering from the UW.
4. Tom Hart – BS 1967, Chairman, President and CEO, QuickLogic – February 5 2007
E. Thomas Hart has served at QuickLogic as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors since1994, and as the Chairman since 2001. Prior to joining QuickLogic, Hart served as Vice President and General Manager of the Advanced Networks Division at National Semiconductor Corporation and as a private consultant with Hart Weston International, a technology-based management consulting firm. Hart has also held positions in senior level management working in semiconductor operations, engineering, sales and marketing for several companies including Motorola, Inc., an electronics provider, and National Semiconductor. Hart holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the UW.
5. Rob Shanafelt – BS 1967, President and CEO, Radix Technologies – February 12, 2007
Robert Shanafelt most recently served as President/CEO of Radix Technologies which he helped found in 1990. He lead the sale of the company to Argon ST in 2005. Prior to founding Radix he was Director of Business Development at ArgoSystems and helped build it from 120 people to over 1,200 people prior to its sale to Boeing in 1987. Shanafelt’s career was primarily in Defense Electronics where he started as a design engineer and evolved into system engineering and business development. His primary focus was signal intelligence. While heading Radix he was responsible for securing a large commercial contract in the wireless local loop arena. This lead to the spin off of a commercial company, Beamreach Networks, which developed a high speed wireless data network system including both the base stations and remote units. Shanafelt led the raising of venture capital to form the company and served on the Board of Directors. His recent work has involved the development of adaptive beamforming systems for spatial separation of overlapped co-channel signals. Shanafelt received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from UW.
6. Mary Simpson – BS 1990, Chief Systems Engineer, Battelle Pacific NW National Laboratory – February 26, 2007
Mary J. Simpson’s experience and interests focus on cognitive support and decision-making systems, integration and complexity reduction, threat and vulnerability analysis, systems sciences, and systems engineering. Simpson applies systems solutions to complex problems encountered in organizations, processes, and systems interactions ranging from strategic to tactical levels in fields including aerospace security, information systems, energy, tank waste, public involvement, emergency planning, and biological and chemical systems. Mary is currently employed as a Chief Systems Engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory which is operated by Battelle Memorial Institute. Simpson has a B.A. in English and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, both from UW.
7. Chris Kenworthy – BS 1976, Sr. VP, Worldwide Marketing, McAfee, Inc. – March 5, 2006
Chris Kenworthy is the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at McAfee, Inc. As an experienced international sales and business leader, Kenworthy is responsible for growing the company's global products and services businesses through direct sales, strategic alliances, and channel partnerships. With over 24 years of experience in the security technology industry, Kenworthy has consistently led teams to increased revenue with enterprise clients, channels, strategic partners, OEMs, and international distributors. Prior to his work at McAfee, Kenworthy served as the Executive Vice President of World Sales for Foundstone where he spearheaded the establishment of the global sales organization in Europe and Asia. Kenworthy earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the UW.
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