News Release
October 19, 2021

Silicon Catalyst Advisor “Wally” C. Rhines Tapped to Receive GSA’s Highest Honor: Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award

San Jose, CA, October 19, 2021 - Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) will honor industry luminary, prominent technologist, and Silicon Catalyst Advisor Dr. Walden “Wally” C. Rhines, with its prestigious Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award at its Annual Awards Celebration on December 9, 2021.

Established in 1999, the Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award is the highest honor achievable through the industry organization comprised of the “who’s who” in semiconductors and related ecosystem. This honor recognizes 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 industry, Wally’s ability to turnaround 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 honor 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, Inc., 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 ten-fold. Prior to joining Mentor Graphics, Dr. Rhines was executive vice president, Semiconductor Group, responsible for TI’s worldwide semiconductor business. He has served on the boards of Cirrus Logic, QORVO, TriQuint Semiconductor, Global Logic, PTK Corp. and as Chairman of the Electronic Design Automation Consortium (five two-year terms). He is a Lifetime Fellow of the IEEE.

“It is truly an honor to receive this year’s Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award and be recognized alongside such an esteemed group of semiconductor leaders and futurists,” said Rhines. “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.”

Dr. Rhines earned his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the University of Michigan, a Master of Science and PhD in materials science and engineering from Stanford University, a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University and Honorary Doctor of Technology degrees from the University of Florida and Nottingham Trent University.

About the GSA Awards Celebration
The GSA Awards Celebration is the industry’s premier annual event attracting more than 1500 leaders to celebrate the accomplishments of this industry and honor the best performing companies and top leaders. Each year the GSA recognizes companies that have demonstrated excellence through their vision, strategy, execution and future opportunity. The celebration honors the achievements of semiconductor companies in several categories ranging from outstanding leadership to financial accomplishments, as well as overall respect within the industry. To register for this year’s virtual celebration, please visit the Awards registration page.

About GSA
GSA is Where Leaders Meet to establish an efficient, profitable, and sustainable high technology global ecosystem encompassing semiconductors, software, solutions, systems, and services. A leading industry organization that represents more than 25 countries and 250 corporate members, including 100 public companies, GSA provides a unique, neutral platform for collaboration, where global executives interface and innovate with peers, partners, and customers to accelerate industry growth and maximize return on invested and intellectual capital. Members of the GSA represent 70 percent of the $450B+ semiconductor industry and continue to grow. Follow GSA on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and WeChat. Learn more about GSA at www.gsaglobal.org.

About Silicon Catalyst

It’s About What’s Next® - Silicon Catalyst is the world’s only incubator focused exclusively on accelerating solutions in silicon (including IP, MEMS & sensors), building a coalition of in-kind and strategic partners to dramatically reduce the cost and complexity of development. More than 600 startup companies worldwide have engaged with Silicon Catalyst and we have admitted 39 exciting companies. Silicon Power Technology, our Chengdu Joint Venture, has admitted 26 additional startups in China. With a world-class network of mentors to advise startups, Silicon Catalyst is helping new semiconductor companies address the challenges in moving from idea to realization. The incubator/accelerator supplies startups with a path to design tools, silicon devices, networking, access to funding, banking and marketing acumen to successfully launch and grow their companies’ novel technology solutions. The Silicon Catalyst Angels was established in July 2019 as a separate organization to provide access to seed and Series A funding for Silicon Catalyst portfolio companies.

More information is available at www.siliconcatalyst.com and www.siliconcatalystangels.com