Board appointments mirror UK design prowess

Prior to joining Imagination Technologies as Technical Director, Yassaie was at ST Microelectronics and Inmos where he headed DSP and digital video developments. He refocused Imagination’s business toward advanced technology development and launched its IP business model. He became the company’s CEO in 1998.

Evans began his career at the GEC Hirst Research Centre working on the development of 1.5µm silicon-on-sapphire processes. He moved on to LSI Logic and then Austrian Micro-Systems in Austria, where he worked on the modelling and specification of mixed-signal CMOS and BICMOS platforms. In April 2001 he joined CSR.

Evans follows in the footsteps of CSR’s previous NMI board representative, Patrick McNamee. CSR’s former VP of Product Engineering, McNamee remains on the board in his new capacity as VP of Operations at Powervation, which becomes the first Irish company to be represented on the NMI’s board of directors.

NMI CEO Derek Boyd said, “The UK and Ireland is recognised the world over for its excellence in semiconductor design and innovation and it’s vital that the NMI stays at the forefront of industry thinking. We’re delighted that Hossein and Ivor have joined the board, their experience and insights will be invaluable in helping us represent the interests of the microelectronics sector moving forward.”

Established in 1996 as a not-for-profit organisation, the NMI has evolved to embrace the entire microelectronics supply chain. Its membership today includes fabless semiconductor manufacturers, IDMs, foundries, design services, IP providers, EDA tool providers and research and academic institutions. Last summer, it announced a 50% increase in membership in little over a year, with the University of Southampton becoming its 150th member.