Executive Bio | Synaptics
Executive Bios
Synaptics is dedicated to fostering creativity and excellence throughout our global organization. Staying on the cutting edge of human interface technology for more than two decades requires a talented and focused team dedicated toward driving ongoing innovation. Our executive team combines technological expertise with deep knowledge of the global marketplace and a clear vision of the future. They focus our organization to continue to push human interface technology to new heights of creativity and innovation.
Rick Bergman - Rick Bergman- President and CEO
Rick Bergman is the President and CEO of Synaptics. Mr. Bergman joined Synaptics in September 2011 from AMD, where he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of AMD’s Product Group. From October 2006 to May 2009, Mr. Bergman served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of AMD’s Graphics Product Group (GPG). His career at AMD began in October 2006 when AMD acquired ATI, where he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of PC Group. Prior to ATI, he served as Chief Operating Officer at S3 Graphics, a division of SonicBlue Inc. He has held senior level management positions in the technology field since his early roles at Texas Instruments, Inc. and IBM. Mr. Bergman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Colorado.
Kathleen Bayless - Senior Vice President, CFO, Secretary, and Treasurer
Kathleen Bayless joined Synaptics in March 2009 as Senior Vice President. She succeeded to the CFO role in September 2009. Ms. Bayless spent thirteen years at Komag, a leading supplier of thin-film disks, where she served most recently as Executive Vice President, Secretary, and Chief Financial Officer. During her tenure at Komag, she helped to successfully manage the company, build its extensive international operations in Asia and grow its revenue to more than $1 billion. Prior to Komag, Ms. Bayless had a distinguished career at Ernst & Young. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University Fresno and is a CPA.
Shawn Day, Ph.D. - Vice President and Chief Technical Officer
Shawn P. Day, Ph.D. has been the Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of Synaptics since July 2007. He served as the Vice President of Research and Development of our company from June 1998 through July 2007; as the Director of Software Development of our company from November 1996 until May 1998; and as principal software engineer of our company from August 1995 until October 1996. Mr. Day holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Doctorate, both in electrical engineering, from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Kin Cheung - Vice President of Product Development
Kin Cheung has been the Vice President of Product Development of our company since September 2006. From 1994, Mr. Cheung has held various management positions at First International Computer including Senior Vice President of Research, Development, and Product Marketing. From 1992 to 1994, he served as Director of System Assurance at Unisys. From 1978 to 1992, he held various technical and management positions of increasing responsibilities at Wang Laboratories, leading to the Director and General Manager of Wang's Microsystems Division. Mr. Cheung holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University.
James Harrington - Senior Vice President of Global Human Resources
James B. Harrington has served as Vice President of Global Human Resources of our company since July 2005. He was Vice President of Human Resources for BroadVision from 2000 to 2005. From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Harrington provided Human Resource consulting and leadership to emerging companies in the technology sector. Previously, Mr. Harrington held leadership roles with Norand, Panda Management, Capitol Records, Syncor International, Allied/Signal and Rockwell International. Mr. Harrington holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Mt. Mercy College and a Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.
Dave Long - Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales
David B. Long has been the Senior Vice President of World Wide Sales of our company since July 2010. Prior to joining our company in 2008, Mr. Long served as Vice President of Worldwide Sales for Consumer Products at LSI Logic Corporation where he directed the management of sales and customer support for standard and custom silicon solutions. From 2003 to 2006, he served as the Vice President of Asia Pacific Sales focused on the Consumer and Storage product segments. He was the Director of North American-West Sales for LSI Operations from 2002 to 2003. Mr. Long also managed LSI's worldwide account with Cisco Systems from 1998 until 2002, directing an extended team of sales, engineering, marketing, operations, and customer service representatives. Mr. Long received a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration/Marketing Management from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo in 1985.
Ruth Lutes - Senior Vice President of Customer Care and Quality
Ruth Lutes is the Senior Vice President of Customer Care and Quality for Synaptics beginning July 2010. Prior to joining our company in 2007, Ms. Lutes served as Director of Quality for Hewlett Packard's Workstation business for five years followed by four years as Director of Total Customer Experience for HP's Storage business. From 1982 to 1997, Ms. Lutes held a number of technical positions in Hewlett Packard including manager of R&D Program Management. Ms. Lutes holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Colorado.
Stanley Swearingen - Senior Vice President of Strategic Technology and Corporate Development
Stanley Swearingen joined Synaptics in July 2010 and serves as Senior Vice President of Strategic Technology and Corporate Development. Prior to joining Synaptics, Mr. Swearingen served as a member of the Office of the President at MiniCircuits from March to October 2009 where he was responsible for strategy and corporate development. From August 2004 to November 2008, Swearingen was the Vice President & General Manager of Linear Product business unit at Skyworks Solutions, Inc., which designs, manufactures, sells, and supports a diverse portfolio of RF products and licensing of Intellectual Property. Mr. Swearingen was Vice President and General Manager of Agere Systems Computing Connectivity division, where he was responsible for the design and manufacturing of wired and wireless connectivity solutions from November 2000 to August 2004. From July 1999 to November 2000, Mr. Swearingen served as CEO of Quantex Microsystems, a direct provider of personal computers, servers, and Internet infrastructure products. He has also held senior management positions at National Semiconductor, Cyrix, and Digital Equipment Corp.
Mark Vena - Senior Vice President and General Manager, PC Division
Mark Vena has been the Senior Vice President and General Manager of PC Synaptics Division since July 2010. As an industry veteran with more than 20 years experience in the PC industry, Mr. Vena is a visionary on where the industry is going and how the power of capacitive touch is going to change how consumers interact with their intelligent devices. Before joining Synaptics in April 2007, Mr. Vena was the VP of Worldwide Marketing at Alienware. Prior to Alienware, Mr. Vena held a number of business and product marketing leadership positions at Dell, Compaq, Epson and IBM. Mr. Vena graduated Cum Laude from Boston College in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History.
Alex Wong - Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations
Alex Wong has been the Vice President of World Wide Operations of our company since September 2006. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Wong served our company as Managing Director of Hong Kong and Director of Operations. Prior to joining Synaptics, Mr. Wong held various management positions with National Semiconductor, including General Manager for National Joint Ventures in China and Hong Kong as well as the Director of Corporate Business Development. Mr. Wong holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from California State University at Northridge and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of East Asia, Macau.
Kevin Barber - Senior Vice President and General Manager, Handheld Division
Kevin Barber has been the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Handheld Division for Synaptics since January 2011. With 15 years of executive experience with organizations such as Conexant Systems, Skyworks Solutions, PRTM, and ACCO, Mr. Barber has extensive domain expertise in the mobile communication industry. Prior to joining our company Mr. Barber was CEO of ACCO Semiconductor since 2008. From 2007 to 2008 he served as a Principal consultant at PRTM focused on the electronics industry. He was Senior Vice President, General Manager of the Mobile Solutions business at Skyworks Solutions from 2003 to 2006 where he was responsible for delivering innovative RF products to the mobile industry. Mr. Barber was Senior Vice President of Operations at Skyworks Solutions from 2002 to 2003 and Conexant Systems from 2001 to 2002. Previously, he held various senior operations positions at Conexant Systems and Rockwell Semiconductor. Mr. Barber holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from San Diego State University and Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.