Team
InspireSemi is led by accomplished experts with extensive experience in relevant technology areas and a strong performance history of bringing new initiatives to market and scaling businesses. Our expertise spans chip design, power conversion, networking, blockchain, crypto currency mining, HPC (High-Performance Computing), and AI (Artificial Intelligence).
The team achieved exceptional performance results with its first gen chip, which was a powerful performer in the crypto mining space. InspireSemi is currently developing its next generation Thunderbird accelerated computing solution with innovative hardware, software, power, and cooling systems designed to deliver revolutionary performance, energy efficiency, versatility, and a thriving open software ecosystem.
Meet the Leadership Team
James J. Hickman
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
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. He has been CEO of multiple startups and was investor #1 in InspireSemi. He has served as Chairman of the Board since 2022 and became CEO upon his predecessor’s retirement on January 1, 2026. He earned a BS in Mathematics and Computer Science from the US Military Academy at West Point and a MS in Accounting and Information Management from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Alex Gray
Founder, President & Chief Technology Officer
Alex is the founder of InspireSemi and inventor of its processor architecture. He is a versatile technical leader with 20 years of design engineering experience, 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. Prior to that he held senior engineering roles at 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.
Doug Norton
Chief Marketing Officer
Doug is a senior business development, sales, and marketing executive with over 35 years of experience in public and startup enterprise technology companies. He brings a customer-focused approach to product/market strategy, market development, creating OEM, channel, & technology partnerships, and building worldwide sales teams. He began his career at IBM in product development then moved to the sales & marketing organization. He went on to various senior leadership positions at Cadence Design Systems, CoWare, Newisys, Virtana, Nimbix, and Viviota. He is President of The HPC-AI Society and Vice-Chair of the RISC-V HPC SIG. Doug earned a BS in Electrical Engineering cum laude from Missouri University of Science & Technology.
Jack Cartwright
Chief Financial Officer
Jack has over 20 years of experience in finance, M&A and operations, with a strong focus in high growth SaaS venture & PE backed startups. Most recently served as CFO of Datum Tech, a leading data and advertising technology company. Prior to Datum, Jack was CFO of Spruce Services a VC backed B2C SaaS company, Senior Director of Finance of Workrise (RigUp), and prior at 9Gauge Partners (acquired by E78). Prior to his tenure at 9Gauge Partners, Jack worked at prestigious organizations such as BT Global, Atkins Global, Cisco Systems, and served as an officer in the US Army. He holds an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Miami.
Thomas Fedorko
Chief Operating Officer
Thomas is an entrepreneurial executive bringing more than 35 years of hands-on technical and business leadership in semiconductor Operations. Most recently he was the VP of Operations for Eta Compute who developed an ultra-low power solution for energy constrained AI applications. Prior to that he led the Operations teams for several successful startup companies including Uhnder, Bluetechnix (acquired by Becom), Black Sand Technologies (acquired by Qualcomm), Luminary Micro (acquired by Texas Instruments) and Oak Technology (acquired by Zoran). He began his career as a product engineer at Motorola Semiconductor who delivered the first microprocessor for the Apple Macintosh. Thomas graduated with honors with a technical degree from DeVry University and is a graduate of the Motorola Management Institute.
Adarsh Maddipatla
Vice President, Engineering
Adarsh brings more than 30 years of technical and business leadership experience in semiconductor R&D and VLSI technologies, with a strong record of driving silicon programs from early concept through launch and high‑volume manufacturing. His teams have consistently delivered industry‑leading, best‑in‑class products with exceptional PPA and lowest total cost of ownership. Before joining InspireSemi, Adarsh held senior leadership roles at Wipro and Capgemini as GM and Head of Engineering for their global VLSI and Semiconductor businesses, where he led design, ASIC, IP, and engineering services across multiple industries. Prior to that, he served as AMD’s Global Program Director and Core Team Leader for the company’s server CPU portfolio, overseeing the execution of Milan and Milan X3D from concept through launch and helping establish AMD’s 3rd‑generation EPYC as a datacenter performance leader. Earlier in his career, Adarsh held leadership roles at Samsung, Intel, and GlobalFoundries, contributing to major silicon development and manufacturing initiatives across the industry. Adarsh holds an MSEE from the University of Kansas and a BS in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Osmania University.
