The Women of Influence Award (formerly, The Rising Women of Influence Award) recognizes and profiles the next generation of women leaders in the semiconductor industry. Companies are encouraged to identify women with a technical background and education within their organization that they believe will be one of their key corporate executives over the next three years. Nominations will be reviewed by an all-female executive committee that will select the top three candidates for recognition at the GSA Annual Awards Dinner. There, a winning recipient will be announced and presented with the Women of Influence Award.
2024 WINNER
Dr. An Mei Chen
Vice President of Engineering
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Dr. An Mei Chen is the Vice President of Engineering at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., where she spearheads efforts in Generative AI Model Inference Efficiency as part of Qualcomm AI Research. Throughout her distinguished tenure at Qualcomm, Dr. Chen has held numerous leadership roles, guiding the development and commercialization of cutting-edge technologies in wireless communication, multimedia, machine learning, AI, IoT, and automotive applications. Her expertise has been integral to the successful deployment of innovations across hundreds of millions of devices worldwide, working closely with strategic partners to bring advanced solutions from ideation to market.
A passionate advocate for innovation, Dr. Chen has been instrumental in launching startup challenges in Taiwan and Vietnam, where she provides intellectual property training, business coaching, and technical support to nurture new ventures. In addition, she leads Qualcomm’s university research collaboration program, overseeing research proposals, funding allocations, and hosting annual workshops to foster academic and industry partnerships.
As a prolific inventor, Dr. Chen holds over 480 patents globally and has contributed more than 25 publications, including several book chapters. In recognition of her outstanding contributions, she received the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award in 2022.
Dr. Chen is also deeply committed to community service, sitting on the Generation STEAM Board. She volunteers her time to mentor first-generation college students and provide guidance to early-stage entrepreneurs.
An Chen earned both her B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of California, San Diego. She was a recipient of the UC Regents and Powell Foundation Scholarship and received honors including Phi Beta Kappa, Tau Beta Pi, and recognition from the American Academy of Achievement as a Young Achiever of the Year.
In summary, Dr. An Mei Chen’s leadership, innovation, and dedication to fostering diversity have made a profound impact on the technology industry, driving innovative breakthroughs while empowering the next generation of STEM leaders.
2024 Nominee
Hong Liu
Vice President/Google Fellow
Hong Liu is currently a Vice President/Google Fellow at ML, Systems and Cloud AI (MSCA), where she is involved in the roadmap, architecture, and photonic innovation for Google’s datacenter networks and machine learning systems for the past 18 years. Before joining Google, Hong was a Member of Technical Staff at Juniper Networks, where she worked on the architecture and design of network routers. Hong received her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University, and is an Optica Fellow.
2024 Nominee
Laura Smith
CVP Engineering Solutions, AMD Fellow
AMD
Laura Smith is a leading figure in the semiconductor industry with over two decades at AMD. She holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech. Laura’s notable achievements include developing AMD’s first production APU, leading AMD discrete graphics integration into Apple products, and spearheading AMD’s MI300 technical support strategy. As CVP of Engineering Solutions, she leads a global team, mentors women, and serves on AMD’s Senior Women Advisory Panel and Corporate Fellows committee.
2024 Nominee
Zhan Yu
Associate Vice President, Analog Mixed Signal Engineering
Marvell Semiconductor
Zhan Yu, Associate Vice President at Marvell Semiconductor, has built and led cross-functional, cross-geographic R&D organizations to design and develop high-performance, mixed-signal IPs. With over 20 years of semiconductor experience in the U.S. and Asia, she has made significant contributions to the industry.
Dr. Yu joined Marvell in 2001 as a design engineer. After delivering multiple successful designs in data storage and data communications products, she was promoted to lead R&D activities across various business units. She later took on the leadership of analog mixed-signal IP development in Central Engineering. Her technical contributions have been integral to Marvell’s advancements in Data Storage, Digital Entertainment, and Data Communication technologies. She holds over 20 patents and has published numerous technical conference and journal papers.
During her tenure in Central Engineering, she expanded her leadership portfolio across functions and geographic regions. She successfully established multiple new sites, driving Marvell’s development of pivotal SerDes IPs in advanced nodes, with consistent year-over-year IP and test chip deliveries critical to Marvell’s IP landscape.
Zhan holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from UCLA and MBA degrees from INSEAD and Tsinghua University. She founded the Coaching Center at Tsinghua x-lab and is an avid mentor for women’s leadership development and young entrepreneurs. Additionally, she serves as an Engineering Technology Advisory Board member for the San Jose State University, Aviation & Technology Department.
2023 WINNER
Thy Tran
Vice President of Global Frontend Procurement
Micron Technology, Inc.
Thy Tran, Vice President of Global Frontend Procurement at Micron Technology, Inc., recently transitioned from her prior role as VP of DRAM Process Integration where she led a global team in the US and Asia to drive DRAM technology development and transfer into high-volume manufacturing fabs. She has nearly 30 years of semiconductor experience working in the US, Europe, and Asia, including two semiconductor fab startups.
Ms. Tran joined Micron in 2008 and led several DRAM module development programs including Advanced Capacitor, Metallization, and Through-Silicon-Via (TSV) integration before taking on the DRAM Process Integration node leadership role for several generations. Her technical contribution has been integral to Micron’s DRAM Technology Development Roadmap and played a significant role in helping Micron achieve DRAM technology leadership. Prior to Micron, Ms. Tran worked on Logic and SRAM technologies at Motorola, Inc. and SRAM at WaferTech, LLC. At Siemens, AG., which later spun off to Infineon and Qimonda, AG. she held several leadership roles in DRAM technology development transfer, and manufacturing.
Ms. Tran graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. She is a recent alumnus of the Stanford Graduate School of Business’s Executive Program and the McKinsey Executive Leadership Program. She is a senior member of IEEE, member of the Society of Women Engineers, and serves as a Strategic Advisory board member for the University of Washington’s Electrical and Computer Engineering department, International Semiconductor Executive Summit, and Mercado Global.
2023 Nominee
Hui Peng Koh
VP & GM Fab Management
GlobalFoundries
Hui Peng Koh is Vice President and General Manager of GF’s New York advanced semiconductor facility, a position she was appointed to in May 2023. Ms. Koh brings more than 23 years of extensive experience in semiconductor research, development, and high-volume manufacturing and global leadership with multi-national organizational management. She specializes in equipment and process engineering innovation and large-scale operational performance and cost management and has a proven track record of delivering transformative business results and developing strong workforce talent pools.
Ms. Koh started her career in 2000 as a lithography process development engineer at GF’s Singapore facility. After delivering multiple successful new technology nodes in Singapore, Ms. Koh relocated to the United States in 2011 to lead a research program for GF in EUV lithography in Albany, N.Y.
During her tenure at the Malta, New York site, Ms. Koh expanded her fab leadership portfolio as a module engineering executive since 2015 and more recently as vice president of engineering. She has successfully ramped up the site, executing GF’s pivot to the diversification of product and customer landscape, with year-over-year capacity/revenue growth as well as record operational/cost performance achievement.
Ms. Koh holds a master’s degree in materials engineering from Nanyang Technical University Singapore.
2023 Nominee
Rozi Roufoogaran
Senior Director of RFIC Engineering
NXP
Rozi Roufoogaran is the Senior Director of RFIC Engineering at NXP, leading the Ultra-Wideband technology radio development. The products she has lead are shipping today in many of the tier 1 mobile handset companies and numerous IOT devices. Prior to NXP, she was the VP of Semiconductor Engineering at Ethertronics Inc, a startup acquired by AVX corporation in Jan 2018, where she lead the team responsible for their innovative line of active antenna products. Before Ethertronics, she held a number of senior management positions during her 17 years at Broadcom Ltd, responsible for the design and development of CMOS RF and analog circuits for varieties of wireless communication standards, including Bluetooth, Zigbee, WLAN, FM radio, and GPS. Rozi joined Broadcom in 2000 after Innovent Systems, the first company to develop single chip CMOS RF devices, was acquired by Broadcom. The innovations she has pioneered are still part of numerous chips shipping in the billions of units at Broadcom.
Rozi received her M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from UCLA. She is the co-author of 15 journal and conference papers and is an inventor or co-inventor of over 22 patents.
Rozi volunteers as a leader of the programs and projects committee at GSA’s women’s initiatives. She is also involved with ECE alumnae advisory committee at UCLA.
2023 Nominee
Johanna M. Swan
Intel Fellow and the Director of Package Research and Systems Solutions in Components Research within Technology Development
Intel Corporation
Johanna M. Swan is an Intel Fellow and the Director of Package Research and Systems Solutions in Components Research within Technology Development at Intel Corporation. She leads a multidisciplinary team of researchers charged with developing novel technologies and package architectures to enable continued semiconductor scaling, mm-wave communications at various length scales and differentiating capabilities within packaging.
An expert in advanced electronic packaging technologies, Swan began her Intel career in 2000, focusing initially on packaging solutions for wireless, cellular and memory products. She initiated Intel’s first through silicon via (TSV) die stacking program and led research in early TSV architectures. She and her team also developed a stacked-package chip-scale package (CSP) and a mixed-technology CSP. Since assuming her current role in 2006, Swan and her team have pioneered numerous innovative packaging technologies, including a multi-die interconnect silicon bridge and an associated enabling printing solution (EMIB) as well as more recent technologies such as Foveros Omni (ODI). She holds over 300 patents worldwide primarily in the field of electronic packaging. Before joining Intel, Swan spent 16 years at Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) and specific to the semiconductor industry she designed and developed a visible light alignment system for the Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUVL) projection optics as part of the joint Virtual National Labs EUVL program. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
2022 Winner
Caixia Jiang
Corporate Vice President, Software Development
AMD
Caixia Jiang is a Corporate Vice President of Software development at AMD, responsible for 3D graphics driver and complier development. She has worked at AMD for 28 years focusing on advancing 3D graphics technology. Prior to joining AMD, Caixia worked as a staff scientist and software developer at several startup companies in image processing and 3D graphics. Caixia studied electrical engineering in college and earned her Ph.D from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.
2022 Nominee
Isabelle Ferain
Senior Director Technology Development
GlobalFoundries
Isabelle is an Electrical Engineer; she started her career in the semiconductor industry in 2001. She has published and co-authored 100+ publications in the field of device engineering. She joined GlobalFoundries 10 years ago. She has successively led the Device Engineering, Metal Deposition Engineering and Central Engineering teams in Malta, NY. Since 2021, she leads GlobalFoundries’s Technology Development team in Dresden (DE), overseeing the development of eNVM and FDX technologies. Since 2015, she is an active sponsor and member of GlobalWomen, GlobalFoundries’s ERG for the professional development of female employees. She actively contributes to their US and EMEA chapters.
2022 Nominee
Lalitha Immaneni
Vice President, Technology Development & Senior Director, Advanced Design & Technology Solutions
Intel Corporation
Lalitha Immaneni is a Vice President in TD, Intel, responsible for architectures and innovations to support emerging packaging technologies. Her team led the architecture and execution for the industry first Foveros/EMIB products. She is widely recognized in the EDA industry for driving design tools for die disaggregation. She manages a global organization of 200+ employees and strives for a culture of diversity and inclusion. She has a M.S in computer science from Arizona State University. She is an active technical contributor in various industry consortiums. Lalitha volunteers for the AZ Pathways for Women program.
2022 Nominee
Dr. Yan Li
Vice President, Engineering, Memory Technology
Western Digital
Dr. Yan Li has more than 200 patents and is renowned for her work in NAND, including helping develop the first triple-layer cell (TLC) in 2008. She began working at Western Digital (SanDisk) in 1998 and was promoted to vice president in 2018. Dr. Li earned a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering and a master’s degree in Physics from Lehigh University. She has a bachelor’s degree in Modern Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China. She is a graduate of the UC Berkley Engineering Leadership Professional Program.
2021 Winner
TERESA MCLAURIN
Fellow & Sr. Director of DFT Architecture
ARM
Teresa McLaurin is a Fellow and Senior Director of DFT (Design for Test) Architecture for all of Arm, based in Austin, Texas. In this role, she is responsible for ensuring that all Arm IP (Intellectual Property) are enabled to be tested fully and with high quality by all of Arm’s partners with their myriad of methodologies and flows. To enable this, she must not only…
2021 Nominee
RASHMI CHAR
VP, Engineering
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Rashmi Char serves as vice president of engineering for Qualcomm Technologies Incorporated. Her current responsibilities include leading the 700-person global product and tools organization and serving as the overall MSM software project engineer for chipsets across the company’s portfolio, the overall IP guardian leading the…
2021 Nominee
Dina McKinney
Sr. VP, Hardware Processors Business Unit
Marvell Technology, Inc.
Dina McKinney is Senior Vice President of Hardware for the Processor Business Unit at Marvell. In this role, Dina is responsible for Marvell’s infrastructure processor development and delivering products and new technologies at the forefront of 5G, data center, enterprise and…
2021 Nominee
Mydung Pham
Corporate VP, Silicon Design Engineering
AMD
Mydung Pham is a corporate vice president of design engineering in the Technology & Engineering Group at AMD. In her current role, Mydung leads AMD’s Central Design Methodology team delivering best in-class tools and methodology to support AMD designs. Her overarching goal…
2020 Winner
Jaya Jagadish
Corporate Vice President, Silicon Design Engineering,
AMD India Engineering Lead
AMD
As India Engineering Lead, Jaya Jagadish is responsible for AMD’s R&D work out of India and for fostering a culture of innovation, inclusive growth and corporate responsibility at the company’s India Development Centre.
Her first stint with AMD was in Austin 1994. She joined the company immediately after completing her master’s in electrical engineering from University of Texas at Dallas.
2020 Nominee
Nahomi Aoto
Senior Director, Technology Development
Micron Technology | Memory Japan
Nahomi Aoto is a Senior Director of Micron Memory Japan. She has been serving semiconductor industry for 37 years. Aoto lead the most advanced process development for DRAM from 2000 to 2018 in Elpida as an executive officer and in Micron as a senior director after the acquisition of Elpida by Micron in 2013. Since 2018 Aoto fills the role of…
2020 Nominee
Karin Eibschitz-Segal
Vice President & General Manager of Intel Israel Development Center and Intel Validation Engineering in the Design Engineering Group
Intel Corporation
Karin Eibschitz-Segal is vice president in the Design Engineering Group and General Manager of Intel Validation Engineering. In this role, she is responsible for delivering Intel’s promise of highest quality products. Based in Israel, Karin is leading the global Intel engineering organization responsible for functional, electrical and power/performance validation…
2020 Nominee
Lie-Szu Juang
Head of Design and Technology Platform
TSMC
Lie-Szu Juang is the deputy head of Design and Technology Platform at TSMC. She leads multiple teams worldwide to enable customer design through design solutions of 3nm, 5nm, 7nm, and specialty technologies like embedded flash, HV/BCD, RF & SOI, and MRAM/RRAM. She is responsible for PDK, foundation library, design flow, and 3rd-party eco-system EDA/IP/service partners to enable 280 customers for 1000 successful project…
2019 Winner
Amber Huffman
Fellow & Chief Technologist for Data Center IP in the Silicon Engineering Group
Intel Corporation
Amber Huffman is a distinguished Fellow and Chief Technologist for Datacenter IP in the Silicon Engineering Group at Intel Corporation. She currently leads the definition of industry leading IP building blocks for Intel’s Datacenter products (which are responsible for $25B of Intel’s yearly revenue). She is a respected authority on storage, memory and IO architecture, and…
2019 nominee
Dr. Marta Karczewicz
Vice President of Technology
Qualcomm Incorporated
Marta Karczewicz received her M.Sc. and Ph.D. (with honors) degrees from the Tampere University of Technology, Finland, in 1994 and 1997, respectively. From 1996 to 2006, she was with Nokia where she managed the “Visual Technologies” Competence Area, and in 2004 she became the head of the Nokia Research Center in Dallas, Texas. In 2006 she joined Qualcomm, where she is currently a…
2019 nominee
Suzanne Plummer
Corporate Vice President of Design Engineering
AMD
Suzanne Plummer is a corporate vice president of Design Engineering at AMD. In this role, she is responsible for the design of AMD discrete GPU products, including the newest Radeon products based on the RDNA Architecture. She leads a team of over 800 full-time engineers and contractors in China, Canada and the United States.
Since joining AMD in 2002, Plummer has led several design…
2019 nominee
Dr. Linda Somerville
Corporate Vice President, Technology Development — Mask and Materials Characterization
Micron Technology, Inc.
Linda Somerville is corporate vice president of Technology Development – Mask and Materials Characterization at Micron Technology.
Dr. Somerville joined Micron in 1995 and has held a variety of increasingly responsible positions. In her current role, she leads a large global team within the Technology Development department. Her responsibilities include photomask technology development and fabrication, materials characterization…
2018 Winner
Vanitha Kumar
Vice President, Engineering
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Vanitha Kumar is a Vice President of Software Engineering at Qualcomm Technologies Incorporated. Vanitha holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University, and a Bachelor of Electronics & Communication Engineering degree from PSG College of Technology, India. Vanitha has 20 years of experience in the wireless telecommunications industry and in embedded software architecture, design, and development. She has…
2018 Nominee
Ching-Wen Cho
Director, Business Management
TSMC North America
Ching-Wen Cho, Account Director, is responsible for driving multi-billion dollar business in TSMC revenue and enabling strong customer revenue growth (and as a consequence TSMC’s) across a broad range of IDM, Fabless and Emerging Account engagements. Her key roles include setting business strategy and leading operational plan execution to maximize both customer satisfaction and TSMC revenue. She actively leads one of TSMC’s…
2018 Nominee
Christine Dunbar
Vice President, RF Business Unit
GLOBALFOUNDRIES
Christine Dunbar is the Vice President of the RF Business Unit at GLOBALFOUNDRIES, where she leads an organization responsible for growing and supporting a global business focused on servicing RF (Radio Frequency) needs for next generation of consumer and enterprise communications. Christine received her Bachelor’s Degree in Materials Science & Engineering from Cornell University in 1996.
Christine joined GLOBALFOUNDRIES in July 2015, when…
2018 Nominee
Sandra L. Rivera
Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President
Intel Corporation
Congratulations to Sandra Rivera for being named Chief People Officer and Executive VP: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190611005761/en
Sandra L. Rivera is senior vice president and general manager of the network platforms group at Intel Corporation. She is responsible for the Intel business group charged with providing innovative technology and solutions to the networking industry. She is also Intel’s…