THE BOARD
SweGaN’s Board of Directors is based on a powerful global network of renowned tech and semiconductor investors from the US, Taiwan, and Europe with deep industry knowledge.
pontus de laval
- Chairman
Pontus de Laval is a Senior Advisor at Navigare Ventures and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, former CTO of Saab, with significant contributions to Sweden’s technology and defense sectors. He is a member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.
Dr. Jr-Tai Chen
- CEO / Board Member
As the CEO & founder, "Ted" has been at the forefront of steering the company's technology roadmap and commercialization efforts. He led the invention of SweGaN's groundbreaking buffer-free GaN-on-SiC material, QuanFINE®. He has co-authored 50+ research papers on 3rd generation semiconductor materials and actively involved in prestigious EU development programs.
Inga Bergström
- Board Member
Extensive leadership experience and operational responsibility in Medical technology and Defense and Security industries. More than 20 years at Saab in different senior leadership positions in Saab Combat Systems, Saab Electronic Warfare systems, international sales campaigns.
Currently responsible for setting up a new Systems Development center in Bremen, Germany. Former member of BoD at Micropol AB, a Swedish based company for passive fiber optics and currently member of BoD in Inverde AB, a Swedish Investment banking company.
fred chang
- Board Member
The long-time entrepreneur, management executive, board member and angel investor, Fred is founder of Newegg Inc., a leading e-commerce platform and has served as Newegg Chairman since 2016. Held the position of CEO from 2001-2008, and 2011-2015. With long experience in the tech arena, he founded an additional technology company in Los Angeles in 1991 engaged in PC computer hardware sales and system integration business. Fred Graduated from Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Chinese Culture in Taiwan.
leif johansson
- Board Member
Mr Johansson is the Chairman of the Board of AB Aphrae and holds Board positions at Autoliv, Inc and Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
He was the Chairman of the Board of AstraZeneca 2012-2023, the Chairman of the Board of Ericsson 2011-2018, a Member of the Board of SCA 2006-2016 and a Non-Executive Director of Bristol Myers Squibb 1998-2011. He was the President and CEO of AB Volvo 1997-2011. Prior to that, Mr Johansson held different executive positions within the Electrolux group, latterly as the group CEO 1994-1997.
He is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Mr Johansson holds an MSc in engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg. He is Honorary Doctor of Technology at Chalmers University of Technology and at Blekinge Institute of Technology and Honorary Doctor of Medicine of Göteborg University.
gerry maguire
- Board Member
Gerry is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Atlantic Bridge and is an experienced Investor, Executive and Design Engineer with a thirty-year career in the technology industry. Prior to joining Atlantic Bridge, he was Vice President at Parthus Technologies responsible for managing a business which included divisions in Ireland, UK and USA. Gerry joined the company in 1993 and played a key role in its transition from startup to successful IPO on Nasdaq. Gerry also had senior roles at several technology companies including Philips and S3.
Gerry has a BA, BAI degree in Electronic Engineering from Trinity College Dublin and a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors.
richard weil
- Board Member
A financial and operating executive who excels in start-up, growth and turnaround situations, Richard combines analytical insights with hands-on involvement to drive corporate change and growth. Currently, he serves as VP Finance at climate tech company CarbonCapture, and Partner at Mount Wilson Ventures, an investment group specializing in deep tech companies. Richard brings extensive experience working with leading companies and innovative start-ups, driving a broad range of financial, analytical, risk-management, strategic and operational areas.
walter wohlmuth
- Board Member
Walter has extensive experience in the compound semiconductor industry transitioning R&D programs to production and ramping up businesses with a focus on technologies including Gallium Arsenide plus Gallium Nitride devices and materials in the RF, wireless, power electronics and solar industries.
He has been held executive roles leading technology development and business development teams at Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS), Sino American Silicon (SAS) Products, WIN Semiconductors Corp., IQE, and Qorvo. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a M.A.Sc. plus B.A.Sc in Engineering Physics from the University of British Columbia. He has created 50+ patents and co-authored 50+ research publications. He is also serving as a member of the Compound Semiconductor (CS) ManTech conference technical program committee.
Walter is a member of The Band of Angels and K2X Technology & Life Science investment groups with successful investment exits in OneTree Microdevices (Analog Devices), Redlen Technologies (Canon Medical), Transphorm (Renesas), Anokiwave (Qorvo) and IconicRF (Microchip Technologies).
dr. alex basu
- Deputy Board Member
Dr. Alex Basu is Investment Manager at Navigare Ventures with extensive experience in deep tech and board roles, including AlixLabs AB, EnginZyme AB, Pixelgen Technologies AB, and Rarity Bioscience AB.
David chow
- Deputy Board Member
David is the Managing Partner at InterTech Ventures LLC in Los Angeles, an early-stage venture investment group. He has served as independent Board member to one Nasdaq company and two Hong Kong listed companies and as a co-representative in Greater China Area for Parsons School of Design (New York) for over a decade.
David also served as an adviser to Dean of Business School’s Global Leadership Council at Colorado State University (Fort Collins) for five years.
David is a seasoned financial and investment executive with a diverse background, having collaborated with global clients such as China Resources Land, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and Saks Fifth Avenue. His extensive experience includes serving as Executive Director at Shanghai Affinity Capital Limited, Managing Director at Tekhill Holding (Hong Kong) for corporate finance and investment portfolio management, and Partner at Shanghai China Bay Partners Limited.
He has also held senior financial executive positions at General Mills in Shanghai, Nabisco in Beijing, and was CFO for Johnson & Johnson in the Greater China Area, handling dual roles at Xian-Janssen Pharmaceutical and J&J China Holding Co. Additionally, David was a Partner at Speakman & Price CPAs. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), certified in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and California.
His higher education involvement includes as an Accounting Professor to Central University of Finance & Economics in Beijing, a Lecturer to School of Continuing Education at Tsinghua University, and an Advisor to Master Candidates at College of Business in University of Shanghai for Science & Technology David holds a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Santa Clara University in California, and executive certificates in marketing and sales management from Columbia Business School and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
david lam
- Deputy Board Member
David Lam holds over 25 years of global technology investment and operating experience and spent the last 15 years funding transformational companies across the semiconductor industry from Capital Equipment to Manufacturing to New Materials to Integrated Circuits to AI Data Centers. He began his investment career over two decades ago at The Carlyle Group and subsequently held senior partnership positions at several leading deep technology investment firms, most recently Atlantic Bridge Capital where he served as General Partner for 10 years. David currently serves as a Senior Advisor at BRV Capital Management and Atlantic Bridge, as a Board Member of the Multibeam Corporation and SweGaN, and as an Advisor to Syntiant and TetraMem. David holds a BS in Industrial Engineering and a MA in Organizational Sociology from Stanford University, and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
sven-christer nilsson
- Advisor
Sven-Christer Nilsson has held numerous positions in Swedish and international organizations including, among others, President and CEO of the Ericsson Group, Chairman of The Swedish National Defense Materiel Administration, Chairman of Swedish ICT Research AB, and Chairman of The Public Service Broadcasting Foundation. He currently serves on the boards of CEVA, Inc., an SoC developer, and MagleChemoswed AB, a medtech company. He has also held board positions at telecom operators Sprint, Inc., and Telia AB. Mr. Nilsson is a member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences.
