Board of Directors
InspireSemi’s Board of Directors is comprised of a world-class team of accomplished professionals with expertise across an array of industries and domains, including semiconductors, computers, AI, banking, healthcare, media, entrepreneurship, technology transfer, academia, and renewable energy.
Meet the Board
James J. Hickman
Executive Chairman
James Hickman is a West Point graduate and former US Army intelligence officer who has had an extensive business and investment career spanning more than 25 years in sectors ranging from media to banking to agriculture to technology. He was investor #1 in InspireSemi and has served as Chairman of the Board since 2022.
Ron Van Dell
Chief Executive Officer, Inspire Semiconductor
Ron has 40 years of experience and an exceptional track record of success and proven leadership skills in early-stage, turn-around and established businesses. He is former CEO of Primarion, SolarBridge, and several other semiconductor and hardware startups. He has deep experience in organization design and operational leadership, business strategy, fundraising/M&A, and corporate governance. He has played key roles in industry-leading category development and technology substitutions across power, communications, computing and renewable energy segments. Ron has served on public and private company boards and earned his BS in Electrical Engineering with honors from Michigan Technological University.
Alex Gray
Founder, President & Chief Technology Officer, Inspire Semiconductor
Alex is the founder of InspireSemi and inventor of its processor architecture. He is a versatile technical leader skilled in most areas of electronic design, and across other engineering disciplines. He previously founded CryptoCore Intellectual Holdings LLC, the predecessor to InspireSemi, and Gray Global Enterprises LLC, a lab equipment supplier. He has over a decade of design engineering experience with companies including SunPower Corporation and SolarBridge Technologies. He earned his BS in Electrical Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign at age 20. He holds nine patents.
John B. Kennedy
Chief Financial & Growth Officer, The ARC Chemung- Schuyler
John has over 30 years of experience in finance and administration, with a strong focus in venture-backed startup and growth stage companies. Most recently he served as CFO of Inspire Semiconductor. Prior to InspireSemi, he was CFO of TriLumina, a leading illumination solution technology company. John was also CFO of Sprocket Media, Inc. and SolarBridge Technologies, Inc., a start-up solar micro-inverter company, VP of Finance and Administration for Primarion, Inc., a leading mixed signal digital power semiconductor company acquired by Infineon Technologies. John holds a BS in Accounting and Finance from Elmira College in New York.
Mitch Jacobson
Board Chair of Pecan Street, Inc.
Mitch Jacobson’s career spans over 44 years and includes extensive experience in executive management, sales management, venture investing, university tech transfer & commercialization, building startup ecosystems & economic development, entrepreneurial education & consulting, and most recently corporate board representation. For the past 15 years, Mitch has been leading innovation and entrepreneurship efforts at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining the University of Texas at Austin and ATI in 2009, he served in various senior positions at Tech Data, Dell Technologies, and Tandy. In addition to the InspireSemi Board, Mitch also serves as board member of several private companies and charitable organizations including Vitro Technologies, Pecan Street Inc, and the Austin Community College Foundation. Prior to joining UT Austin, Mitch founded one of the first angel investment groups in Austin, TX – The Eyes of Texas Partners. Mitch received his B.A. from the University of Florida Warrington Business School, graduating with honors and participated in the MBA Program at the University of South Florida.
Muneeb Yusuf
Chief Legal Officer, League
Jeff Brown
President, Founder JB & Associates
Jeff Brown has had a long and successful career in the media industry, with extensive experience in marketing and distribution. In his 26 years of Warner Bros. he held several senior management positions including Executive Vice President of Home Entertainment. Jeff is currently the Principal of JB & Associates, a strategic consulting firm and is a Faculty Lecturer in Entertainment Media Management, Cinema and Television Arts at California State University.
Mr. Brown holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, a BSE in Finance from Wharton, University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Political Science from University of Pennsylvania.
Jeff Schneider
Preident, Red Cedar Corp
Jeff Schneider, CPA (inactive) is the Principal at Red Cedar Corp. He previously served as President and Chief Financial Officer of Royalty Exchange from January 2016 to April 2018. Prior to joining Royalty Exchange, Mr. Schneider was the Chief Executive Officer of a financial publishing company, Choose Yourself Media. From 2012 through 2015, Mr. Schneider was also the COO at Early to Rise Publishing, a digital publishing company focused on health and wellness. After receiving an MBA from Purdue University, Mr. Schneider worked in audit and consulting for Boston Scientific, as well as Controller and Finance Manager at a chip development division of General Electric.
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