Mr. Sooch co-founded Silicon Labs in August 1996 and has served as Chairman of the Board since inception. Mr. Sooch served as Chief Executive Officer from inception through the end of fiscal 2003 and served as interim Chief Executive Officer from April 2005 to September 2005. From March 1985 until founding Silicon Labs, Mr. Sooch held various positions at Crystal Semiconductor/Cirrus Logic, a designer and manufacturer of integrated circuits, including Vice President of Engineering. From May 1982 to March 1985, Mr. Sooch was a Design Engineer with AT&T Bell Labs. From October 2011 to April 2018, Mr. Sooch served as the CEO of Ketra, Inc., a private company in the field of solid state lighting. Mr. Sooch holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Dearborn and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Mr. Sooch’s prior experience as Chief Executive Officer as well as a semiconductor designer provides him with extensive insight into our industry and our operations and qualifies him to serve as Chairman of our Board of Directors.