De Geus to chair Leadership Group Board of Directors

Sponsored by the Leadership Group at Stanford University

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group is pleased to announce that Aart de Geus, Chairman and CEO of Synopsys, Inc., will chair its board of directors.

A co-founder of Synopsys in 1986, de Geus has led its expansion from a start-up to a world leader in electronic design automation. He is one of the most honored executives in Silicon Valley. Recognizing his business success and his many contributions to the community, the Leadership Group presented him with its Spirit of Silicon Valley Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. De Geus returns as chairman of the Leadership Group board, having served in that capacity in 2003 and 2004.

“We are fortunate to have someone of Aart’s caliber as our new Board Chair” said Carl Guardino, President and CEO of the Leadership Group.

Tom Werner, CEO of SunPower, will be Vice Chair of the 27-member Leadership Group board.

Michael Splinter, President and CEO of Applied Materials, concluded a two-year term as Leadership Group board chairman on Jan. 1. He remains a board member. Vice Chair William Watkins, former CEO of Seagate, was in line to succeed Splinter until a change of leadership at Seagate. The bylaws of the Leadership Group require board members to be CEOs of companies or ranking executives for their operations in Silicon Valley.

Guardino praised Splinter and Watkins for their dedicated service to the Leadership Group.

“Mike Splinter has been a tremendous asset to Silicon Valley as chairman of the Leadership Group board,” said Guardino. “The Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot, which benefits three local charities, is only the most prominent example of his many on-going contributions to the community and our organization.”

“We are very sorry that Bill Watkins will not have the opportunity to serve as board chairman,” Guardino continued. “Bill was a vital member of the Leadership Group board and a tremendous addition to the leadership team for the Measure B campaign for BART this past fall. He has been a champion of the Housing Trust’s efforts to provide affordable housing, and of our Middle School Math Initiative. His wise counsel and leadership-by-example will be missed.”

De Geus is one of the leading experts on logic simulation and logic synthesis. His role in the commercial logic synthesis market was recognized when he became the third recipient ever to receive the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Circuits and Systems Society Industrial Pioneer Award.

He is also passionate about education for the next generation, having created in 1999 the Synopsys Outreach Foundation, which promotes project-based science and math learning throughout Silicon Valley. He has also been a key leader for Second Harvest Food Bank’s Annual Holiday Drive, the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County, and numerous other activities to benefit the community.

Born in Holland and raised in Switzerland, de Geus is a Renaissance man. In addition to his language skills and technical talent, he paints and plays blues guitar. He holds an MSEE from the Swiss Federal Polytechnical Institute in 1978 and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Southern Methodist University.