11 December 2012

International Rectifier appoints VP & COO, and creates new role to focus on GaN Technologies

Power semiconductor device maker International Rectifier Corp (IR) of El Segundo, CA, USA has appointed Gary Tanner as executive VP & chief operations officer, effective 2 January 2013.
Tanner will be responsible for the continued implementation of the firm’s operational transformation strategy and will report to president & CEO Oleg Khaykin. Tanner succeeds Mike Barrow, who will now lead the firm’s efforts to commercialize its gallium nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si) technology.

“As we position IR for the next phase of growth, the execution of our operational transformation strategy and the successful launch of our GaN technology platform will be two of our major focus areas,” says Khaykin. “Both Gary and Mike have outstanding track records in the semiconductor industry and I am confident in their leadership and management capabilities to drive two of our most critical initiatives.”

“I am excited about the opportunity to join International Rectifier and help build upon the strong foundation that is already in place,” says Gary Tanner. “I look forward to working with IR’s talented operations team to continue implementing our operational transformation strategy. We believe that doing so will allow us to re-size our operations, reduce costs, effectively scale the business during an up-cycle and significantly reduce the downward margin pressure during a down cycle.”

With over 35 years of semiconductor industry experience, Tanner most recently served as CEO at Zarlink Semiconductor Inc, which was acquired by Microsemi Corp in October, 2011. Previously, he was COO, responsible for increasing Zarlink’s operational efficiency and streamlining operations. Tanner joined Zarlink in 2007 as senior VP of worldwide operations via the acquisition of Legerity, where he was head of operations. Before Zarlink, Tanner worked for nine years at Intel Corp, where he held various positions managing domestic and international manufacturing operations. Prior to Intel, he held various management positions in fab operations at National Semiconductor, Texas Instruments and NCR. Tanner holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Technical Management from Regis College.

“The company has made a significant investment in developing GaN technology over the past nine years. As we move from the research and development phase to production, we are putting one of our most senior and talented executives in charge of this strategic initiative to ensure the successful commercialization of this revolutionary new technology,” says Khaykin. “Mike joined IR in 2008 as executive vice president & chief operations officer and was the principal architect of IR’s operational transformation strategy. I thank Mike for his leadership and contribution to IR’s growth over the past four years and look forward to his continued leadership as the executive vice president of GaN Technologies and his success in commercializing the technology. In his new role Mike will be responsible for all aspects of GaN, including process and product development, product marketing, and manufacturing.”

“I look forward to leading this critical strategic initiative for IR,” says Mike Barrow. “We have a highly talented GaN technology team, a large library of intellectual property, and have successfully validated our GaN technologies with Tier 1 customers. The next step is for us to fully commercialize this exciting new platform. IR is already a market leader in silicon power management technologies and it is my goal to extend this lead and open up new opportunities with our GaN technologies.”

Tags: International Rectifier GaN-on-silicon

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