Nov 14 2008
Silicon Clocks, a leading semiconductor IP licensing company, announced the appointment of Didier Lacroix as its new President and CEO. Lacroix, a veteran of the semiconductor IP and MEMS (Microelectrical Mechanical Systems) industry, leads Silicon Clocks into a new phase of growth by pursuing a pure IP licensing model for its CMEMSTM technology.
With over 26 patents filed, Silicon Clocks’ CMEMS™ technology enables the monolithic integration of a wide range of sensors onto a standard CMOS process. The company recently demonstrated to key partners some major technical breakthroughs confirming that its CMEMSTM technology offers a broader scope of capabilities to achieve a higher level of electronic integration and product miniaturization. Silicon Clocks is backed by more than $20 million in venture capital financing from Tallwood Venture Capital, Charles River Ventures, Formative Ventures and Lux Capital.
“We are excited to bring an experienced leader such as Didier Lacroix to join Silicon Clocks at this critical juncture,” said Ron Yara, General Partner of Tallwood Venture Capital and Chairman of Silicon Clocks. “He has the extensive IP and MEMS licensing background that we were seeking as we transition the company to a licensing model to accelerate adoption of the CMEMSTM technology for integrated clock and timing products, as well as for a broader range of embedded sensors applications.”
“I’m very impressed by the rapid progress and unique achievements that Silicon Clocks has shown with its groundbreaking technology,” said Lacroix, who also joins Silicon Clocks’ Board of Directors. “With increased requirements to integrate more resonators and sensors in consumer, gaming, automotive, and health technology applications, CMEMSTM can become a de-facto standard for MEMS above CMOS integration.”
Lacroix comes to Silicon Clocks with over 20 years of public and private company senior executive experience, most recently as vice-president of worldwide sales for MoSys (NASDAQ: MOSY), a technology leader for high-density embedded memory IP. Previously, he was senior vice-president of worldwide sales for Chipidea, a leading provider of analog and mixed-signal IP, acquired by MIPS Technologies. Before Chipidea, Lacroix was the CEO of Discera, and Vice-President and General Manager of MEMSCAP’s wireless business. He has also held management positions at Synopsys and Cadence.
Lacroix holds a master of science degree in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and a diplome d’ingénieur from the Ecole supérieure d'Ingénieurs en Electrotechnique et Electronique (ESIEE) in France.