John has over 47 years’ experience working in semiconductor packaging and electronics assembly technology, all of which has been in industry. Starting in STC Paignton in 1978 in their Thick Film Hybrid division and then transferring to their high reliability Optoelectronic Division. Over the next 11 years, he worked everything from Laser and LED die bond / wirebond, fiber-optic alignment, hermetic lid sealing, leak checking, life testing and failure analysis for Hi-Rel optical communication systems that would ultimately see STC being acquired by Nortel Networks. He joined Custom Interconnect Ltd (CIL) in 1989, where he remains after 37 years. The first 6 years were spent as a Design Engineer / Design Manager / Technical Manager on semiconductor packaging / complex PCBA’s and in 1995 he became Operations Director of CIL and Managing Director in 2001. In 2023, CIL opened its BP2 facility which is the UK’s largest OSAT facility and CIL is the UK’s 3rd largest EMS provider with a turnover of £45M this year and planned turnover next year of £75M.
UK Strengths, Capabilities & Gaps Wednesday @ 10:05 AM
Phil is Head of Product at Lumai, the optical computing company developing highly energy-efficient AI acceleration for the inference era. With more than 25 years of experience in global product management, go-to-market strategy, and technology, Phil has held senior roles at leading semiconductor and technology companies including Arm, Indie Semiconductor, Mentor Graphics (now Siemens) and TTP. He has a track record of building and scaling innovative products and services.
Design & Future Compute Architectures Wednesday @ 1:45 PM
Janet is Chair of the Board at Quantum Dice, Independent NED and Advisor at Mach42, Independent NED at the Aerospace Technology Institute and also a member of the UK Government’s Semiconductor Advisory Panel and member of National Physics Laboratory’s Major Programme Portfolio Advisory Council.
Prior to her portfolio career she held senior positions within the semiconductor industry most recently as Strategic Group Director at Cadence Designs System leading international teams, driving bespoke approaches and effective ecosystem partnerships that delivered business revenue growth across the semiconductor supply chain.
After her engineering degree at Girton College Cambridge University she worked in the USA and UK in semiconductor design through to manufactured product shipping in volume. She and her team taped out over 300 devices.
She then moved into roles in electronic design automation at Cadence which spanned technical application engineering, product management, project management, global services, IP and software sales director. Her final role was as International Group Director Strategic Accounts.
In the 2025 New Year’s honours list she was awarded an MBE for services to quantum hardware and cyber security.
Later in 2025 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from Electronics Weekly Women Leaders in Electronics and was named in the top 5 of Computer Weekly’s most influential woman in UK technology.
She mentors STEM professionals from under represented groups as they progress through the ranks all the way to C-suite.
Closing Keynote: How the UK Becomes Indispensable in the Next Semiconductor Frontier Wednesday @ 4:35 PM
Sovereign Supply Chains Wednesday @ 3:25 PM
Jon Heffernan is Professor of semiconductor materials and devices at the University of Sheffield. He is concurrently Director of the EPSRC National Epitaxy Facility. Prior to joining the University of Sheffield he spent eighteen years in industrial R&D as Director of Advanced Optoelectronics at Sharp Laboratories of Europe, a division of Sharp Corporation. There he worked with teams in Japan, Europe and the USA on the development of semiconductor lasers, LEDs, nanomaterials, and solar cell technologies, taking low-TRL research through to mass manufacturing.
Professor Heffernan’s research is now focussed on novel semiconductor materials, semiconductor manufacturing technologies, and quantum technologies based on semiconductor nanomaterials. He is a co-founder of two University of Sheffield spin-out companies and has served on a number of advisory boards for semiconductor technologies.
Power Electronics, Photonics and Quantum - Does the Past Dictate the Future? Wednesday @ 11:40 AM
Sovereign Supply Chains Wednesday @ 3:25 PM
Sylvia Lu is an award-winning Chartered Engineer and Non-Executive Director. Sylvia has over 16 years of experience in the Telecom industry for four mobile generations with semiconductor vendors. Sylvia provides guidance on the impact of emerging technologies on products and corporate strategy, influences global standards, accelerates the adoption of new technologies, and provides independent advice to industry and policy stakeholders.
Sylvia serves on several national and global industry Boards: she is an elected board director of CW (Cambridge Wireless), and serves on the Advisory Board of UKTIN, which provides independent advice on the telecoms sector, champions the opportunities in telecoms research, development, and innovation for the UK, and helps UKTIN provide impartial input to government. She also served on the Board of 5G-ACIA (5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation), joined forces with global industry stakeholders to influence 5G development and deployment in line with industrial imperatives to accelerate Industry 4.0.
She holds a first-class Electronic Engineering degree, a Master of Science degree in Communications and Signal Processing from the University of Bristol. She graduated with a Distinction from the University of Oxford in PGDip Strategy & Innovation, and an Executive MBA degree from the University of Cambridge. Sylvia is also an artist.
Sovereign Supply Chains Wednesday @ 3:25 PM
Power Electronics, Photonics and Quantum - Does the Past Dictate the Future? Wednesday @ 11:40 AM
With over 30 years’ experience in the semiconductor industry, Tony Pearce is COO at Paragraf, responsible for scaling the business from start-up to high volume manufacturer. His background includes previous positions as Managing Director with semiconductor equipment manufacturer Aixtron Ltd, and as VP of Global Operations for compound semiconductor manufacturer IQE plc. Specialising in establishing and growing manufacturing facilities, capabilities and organisations commercialising breakthrough technologies spanning from advanced semiconductor equipment to graphene electronics.
UK Strengths, Capabilities & Gaps Wednesday @ 10:05 AM
Dr Pelzel is Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer at IQE plc, responsible for technology strategy, operations, and the development and scale-up of advanced semiconductor materials solutions.
He has over 25 years of experience in compound semiconductor materials engineering and epitaxial growth and is a recognised expert in advanced applications. He holds more than 30 patents and is a widely published author in the field.
Dr Pelzel joined IQE in 2000 as a Production Engineer and progressed through a series of engineering and operational leadership roles, scaling leading-edge technologies for wireless applications. In 2012, he was appointed Head of R&D, where he led the development of differentiated materials platforms and new product introductions across the Group.
He has played a central role in establishing IQE as a global leader in advanced semiconductor materials, building one of the industry’s broadest technology portfolios.
Dr Pelzel holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado and a PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a Chartered Engineer, Chartered Scientist, and a Fellow of both the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Institution of Chemical Engineers.
Power Electronics, Photonics and Quantum - Does the Past Dictate the Future? Wednesday @ 11:40 AM
Haydn Povey is CEO of SCI Semiconductors, and a veteran of the embedded design space. Starting his career at National Instruments, he was hired into Arm to lead the deeply embedded processors, leading the Cortex-M family and working across global silicon vendors to drive adoption of the new technology. At Arm he also owned the security technology portfolio, including TrustZone, that underpin security across mobile phone, automotive and industrial applications. Following Arm, he founded Secure Thingz, a successful security startup, which was purchased by IAR Ltd, the leading tools vendor, where he was Group Chief Strategy Officer for over 5 years.
UK Strengths, Capabilities & Gaps Wednesday @ 10:05 AM
:
Linkedin.com/in/markrushworth
Power Electronics, Photonics and Quantum - Does the Past Dictate the Future? Wednesday @ 11:40 AM
Andy is Director of Strategy for CORNERSTONE, the world-leading photonics foundry at the University of Southampton. He serves on the UK Government’s Semiconductor Advisory Panel and chairs the UK Semiconductor Expert Working Group. He has given expert advice to the UK Parliament on five occasions, including the National Security and Investment Act, the Telecom Security Act and the select committee on semiconductors. He has also advised the OECD Semiconductor Informal Exchange Network, and is an Advisor to Silicon Catalyst UK.
Andy was the Founder of the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult, securing a £54m investment from UK Government. He built a high-performance organisation of over 100 professionals; he represented the Catapult during roundtable discussions with the Prime Minister and high-level delegations to Hong Kong, India, Taiwan and the US White House.
Andy holds an Executive MBA from Glasgow University, a research doctorate from Strathclyde University and is a Fellow of the IET.
Sovereign Supply Chains Wednesday @ 3:25 PM
Design & Future Compute Architectures Wednesday @ 1:45 PM
Steve Taylor is a strategic marketing and communications leader with more than 30 years’ experience across semiconductors, advanced hardware and global technology ecosystems.
He has held senior roles at Paragraf, the Autoware Foundation, Linaro and Arm, and previously spent 16 years in Taiwan working with technology media, semiconductor and electronics companies including DigiTimes and Primax Electronics. His work has focused on helping organisations scale internationally and align industry, government and academic stakeholders.
Most recently, he has worked at the intersection of semiconductor innovation, industrial strategy and international collaboration, helping strengthen the visibility, positioning and growth of emerging technologies and ecosystems across the UK, Europe and Asia.
Introduction to the Day Wednesday @ 10:00 AM
Alex van Someren FREng FIET is a British engineer and cybersecurity expert who has been a key figure in the UK's technology sector, in venture capital and in national security. He is currently the Executive Chair of Vancouver-based Quantum Computing company Photonic, Inc.
His career began at Acorn Computer in the 1980s, where he contributed to developing the BBC Microcomputer and the Acorn Electron. He then co-founded several technology companies, two of which became public through IPOs on the London Stock Exchange, ANT Software plc (AIM:ANTP) and nCipher plc (LSE:NCH), both later acquired.
Alex served as a Managing Partner at venture capital firm Amadeus Capital Partners from 2010 to 2021, focusing on early-stage investments in ‘deep technology’ across the UK and Europe.
In 2021, he was appointed as the UK's Chief Scientific Adviser for National Security, providing independent scientific advice to the UK Intelligence Agencies and to wider UK government. During this period, he also served as a consultant to the €1 Billion NATO Innovation Fund.
Alex is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and an Honorary Professor of Computer Science at the University of Manchester. He was previously the Clore Innovation Professor at the Royal College of Art.
Design & Future Compute Architectures Wednesday @ 1:45 PM
:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wenmiao-yu-b37bba151
Design & Future Compute Architectures Wednesday @ 1:45 PM
