Dr Wally C Rhines honoured by Global Semiconductor Alliance

The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA), an industry organisation that represents more than 25 countries and 250 corporate members, has announced that it will honour industry luminary and prominent technologist Dr Walden ‘Wally’ C Rhines (pictured) with its prestigious Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award at the annual GSA Awards Celebration, to be held virtually this year on 9 December.

Established in 1999, the Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award is the highest honour achievable through the GSA and recognises individuals for their exceptional contributions, exemplifying how their vision and global leadership have transformed and elevated the entire semiconductor industry. The selection of Dr Rhines is based on his vast technological contributions, exceptional business acumen and wide-ranging respect among the technology industry and business community.

“While he may be best known as a champion of the EDA [electronic design automation] industry, Wally’s ability to turn around companies and make them not only profitable, but leaders in our industry, is no small feat,” said Jodi Shelton, co-founder and CEO of GSA. “I am pleased to honour Wally’s distinguished career and add to his legacy with GSA’s Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award.”

Dr Rhines is President and CEO of Cornami, a fabless software/semiconductor company focused on intelligent computing for fully homomorphic encryption and machine learning. He was previously CEO of Mentor Graphics for 25 years and chairman of the board for 17 years. During his tenure at Mentor, revenue nearly quadrupled and market value of the company increased tenfold.

Prior to joining Mentor Graphics, Dr Rhines was Executive Vice President, Semiconductor Group at Texas Instruments, responsible for the company’s worldwide semiconductor business. He has served on the boards of Cirrus Logic, QORVO, TriQuint Semiconductor, Global Logic and PTK Corp, and as Chairman of the Electronic Design Automation Consortium (five two-year terms). He is a Lifetime Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

“It is truly an honour to receive this year’s Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award and be recognised alongside such an esteemed group of semiconductor leaders and futurists,” Dr Rhines said. “It has become even more apparent over the past two years that the semiconductor industry continues not only to advance people’s lives but simply to keep us connected across the planet. I’m grateful for my role in this community and the opportunity to share my journey with so many remarkable people.”

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