Ramakanth Alapati, Chairman and CEO

Before becoming CEO in August of 2020, Mr. Alapati spent two years as a YES technology advisory board member, and he has been YES’s chairman since January of 2020. Prior to that, he oversaw engineering and operations at PsiQuantum, led technology strategy and roadmaps at Amkor Technology, directed packaging product management and R&D at GlobalFoundries, and guided the development and commercialization of double patterning & TSV technologies at Micron Technology. Mr. Alapati has a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Kansas, a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Osmania University in India, and executive education from Harvard. He holds over 30 patents.

Dragan Cekic, VP, Global Sales

Dragan Cekic is an accomplished semiconductor sales & marketing executive with more than two decades of international business and customer experience in semiconductor equipment and worldwide manufacturing. Prior to joining YES, he was Director of Global Sales & Marketing for Semiconductor Process Equipment Corp. (SPEC), a long-time supplier of surface conditioning wet-process equipment. Before that, he founded and spent ten years running Dyno Silicon International, a global technology consultancy specializing in optimizing, developing and expanding clients’ business operations in the semiconductor field, with an emphasis on wet etch, solvent clean, ECD/plating, ion implantation, plasma ashing, UV curing and lithography. His background also includes sales management positions at SEMSYSCO GmbH, Trymax Semiconductor, and Axcelis Technologies. Mr. Cekic holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Technical College Munich and a certificate in Business Leadership and Strategic Management from Cornell University. He is fluent in five languages.

Alex Chow, SVP, Sales and Business Development

Mr. Chow is based in the YES Asia office in Taiwan and is responsible for growing the company’s presence worldwide. To his role at YES, he brings 20 years of executive positions at Onto Innovation and Ultratech, and many successful strategic partnerships with top-tier IDMs, foundries and OSATs. Mr. Chow holds a master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park and has completed the Executive Education program in Strategy in Competitive Markets at the University of California, Berkeley.

Don Foldenauer, VP of Operations

Prior to joining YES, Don Foldenauer spent over 15 years in Manufacturing Operations management at Applied Materials, followed by VP of Operations roles at three contract manufacturers: Jabil, Celestica, and Ultra Clean Technology. His resumé also includes more than 15 years in Field Operations management at Applied Materials and KLA-Tencor. He began his career as a design engineer of semiconductor manufacturing equipment systems and has been awarded multiple patents. In addition to holding bachelor’s degrees in electronic engineering and business management, and an MBA from San Jose State University, he is a regular guest lecturer at Stanford University on the topics of photovoltaics and semiconductor manufacturing.

Jason Hoffman, Chief People Officer and SVP People & Culture

Prior to joining the executive team, Jason Hoffman was an advisor for YES’s lead investor KCK Group. He has over two decades of US and international HR leadership and management consulting experience in highly innovative business environments including healthcare IT, medical devices, biotechnology, autonomous driving and semiconductors. Among his past positions are VP of HR and Communications at TRR, VP of HR at Innovusion, VP of People & Culture at Visby Medical, CHRO at Elekta and HR Director at Pfizer. His educational background includes a BA in Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara, a masters program in Strategic Human Resources Management from Stockholm University, and executive leadership programs at the Stockholm School of Economics and INSEAD.

Zia Karim PhD, Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Karim is YES’s Chief Technology Officer. Before joining the company, Dr. Karim spent 15 years as Vice President of Business Development and Technology at Eugenus/AIXTRON/Genus (acquisitions). He also held senior management positions at Applied Materials and Novellus (acquired by Lam Research). He started his career at Sharp Microelectronics in 1994. Dr. Karim received his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Dublin City University in Ireland, and the Certificate of Business Excellence from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Karim owns 16 patents and has authored more than 40 papers.

Bioh Kim, SVP & GM, Wet Products and YES Korea President

Prior to joining YES, Bioh Kim served in various executive roles for over a decade at leading equipment manufacturers, including Vice President of the ECD business unit and worldwide sales & service for TEL NEXX (Tokyo Electron US), Managing Director of packaging field technology for Applied Materials, and General Manager for APEVA (a subsidiary of Aixtron). Bioh started his career at Samsung in Korea after earning his BS and MS degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Seoul National University. He then spent 20 years in the US semiconductor industry, returning to Korea in early 2020.

Chris Lane, VP Engineering

Before joining YES as VP of Engineering, Mr. Lane spent six years as Systems Engineering Vice President at Translarity. For the five years prior to that, he was Managing Director of Engineering Programs at Applied Materials. He also held engineering leadership positions at Solyndra and Intevac. Mr. Lane has a BS in Systems Engineering, an MBA in Finance and an MS in Engineering Analytics, all from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He holds 25 U.S. and international patents, with several more pending.

Rezwan Lateef, President

Mr. Lateef became President of YES in November of 2020, after two years as the company’s SVP of Sales & Service. He has over 15 years’ experience in the semiconductor industry and was a key executive in the successful sale of two companies. He has also held leadership positions at MKS, NEXX Systems, TEL, Ultratech & Veeco. Mr. Lateef holds a BSEE and MSEE from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has completed the executive management training program at the Harvard Business School.

Kimihiko Matsubara, General Manager, YES Japan

Based in Nagoya, Kimihiko Matsubara leads YES’s sales efforts in the Japan market, supporting the rapidly evolving semiconductor and advanced organic substrate market segments in the region. Matsubara-san started his career with process equipment manufacturer Hakuto, spending three decades there in positions of increasing managerial responsibility. Subsequently, he served in business development and senior sales management roles at TASMIT and Faro Japan. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Meijo University.

Prabhat Mishra, VP of Finance

Mr. Mishra became Vice President of Finance in June 2021, after two years as the company’s Head of Finance. Prior to joining YES, Mr. Mishra was Senior Director of Finance at Macom and Applied Micro, managing the Financial Planning and Analysis function of the company. Before that, he spent ten years as a finance leader at Intel Corporation, supporting the Mobile Products Group, the Software & Services Group and the Technology & Manufacturing Group. Mr. Mishra started his career as an engineer and was an engineering manager at STMicroelectronics, Sun Microsystems and Intel. Mr. Mishra holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, an MBA from Arizona State University, and Certification in Accounting from University of California, Berkeley.

Dan O’Connell, VP of Strategic Accounts

Mr O’Connell brings a wealth of strategic account experience in the semiconductor industry to his role on the YES leadership team. He works closely with the Sales, Marketing and Technology groups to nurture strategic customer relationships and ensure YES’s alignment with current and future customer technology requirements. Prior to joining YES, Mr. O’Connell held senior key account management positions of increasing responsibility at ASM Pacific Technology Ltd., Tokyo Electron (TEL), LAM/Novellus, and Ebara. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Russ Sanchez, VP of Quality

Mr. Sanchez oversees quality for YES worldwide, and is Managing Director of the YES Technology Center in Chandler, Arizona. He is a seasoned operations and business leader with over two decades of experience developing technology centers and manufacturing operations to support the growth of major companies in the semiconductor, microelectronics, printed electronics, antenna, and hard drive markets. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Guy Shechter, VP & GM, Field Service

Prior to joining YES, Mr. Shechter was VP and General Manager of Global Services Solutions at Veeco, where he spent 13 years in Marketing and Service leadership roles of increasing responsibility. Earlier in his career, he was Director of Marketing at Oramir (now part of Applied Materials) and Vice President of Marketing at Sagitta. Mr. Shechter holds both a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (magna cum laude) and an MBA in Technology Development from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

Ankineedu Velaga PhD – Managing Director, YES India

Dr. Ankineedu Velaga leads YES’s engineering and sales efforts in India. He has more than 35 years of experience spanning engineering and fab operations, customer interaction and retention, and business development worldwide. Dr. Velaga has held leadership roles with technology companies including BRIDG, imec, SilTerra, Applied Materials, Avago, and Lucent, and his global management experience extends from the US and the European Union to Malaysia and Singapore. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Arkansas, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras, and a B.S in Chemical Engineering from the Regional Engineering College in Warangal, India.

YC Wong – VP of Business Development, Asia Pacific

Mr. Wong is based in Singapore and is responsible for expanding opportunities for YES in the Asia Pacific region. He came to YES from Veeco, where he began as a Sr Sales Manager for Ultratech in Shanghai and rose through Sales positions of increasing responsibility in Taiwan, China, Korea, and Singapore to become Sr Director of Product Marketing at Veeco SE Asia Pte. Ltd. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Western Sydney, Australia, and an MBA from the National University of Singapore.