Company // Leadership
The team behind Cactus Materials
Experienced semiconductor leaders driving innovation across SiC power and III-V photonics.
01 — Our leadership
Executive Leadership
Rafi Islam, PhD
Founder, Chief Executive Officer
PhD in Materials Engineering from ASU. 13+ years in manufacturing at Intel. 20 years of experience in the Semiconductor Industry. Ironman Triathlete.
Ron Elwood, CPA
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
30 years of C-level experience in various accounting roles. CFO role with Baer, Inc. and Bright International Corp. Lead on Audit Committee.
Colby Rampley
Director of Fab Operations
20+ years of experience, managed NXP Echo Fab, Freescale, Motorola
Thierry Godart, PhD
VP of Industrial Solutions
30+ years in the electric power industry. Worked at Siemens, Schneider Electric, Intel, and Eaton. Ph.D. in EE from Georgia Tech.
Marc Papageorge, MS
VP Power Business & Corporate Development
MS from U. Florida Materials Engineering. 30+ patents, publications, and engineering awards. Former COO of Sicamore Semiconductor.
Michel Francois, PhD
Director of Research
PhD in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University. Experienced in Si, SiC, GaAs Design and Processing. Over 35 years of experience in the Semiconductor Industry.
Chantal Arena, PhD
Director of Business Development, Photonics
35 years of exp. in Semiconductor Devices, Equipment, and Process. Cofounded two startups
Jean Philippe DeBray, PhD
Director of Product
PhD in Material Science. Specialist in optoelectronic devices. Over 25 years of experience.
Chris Dragon
Sr. Director of New Technology Introduction
Masters from RIT in Microelectronics Engineering. Over 30 years experience in technology platform development for RF power devices at Motorola/Freescale/NXP
Andrew Schwinger, CFA
Bus. Dev. & Marketing, Photonics
Experienced in consulting, business development, marketing, and 15 years of experience in banking and investment management. Worked in the USA, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. CFA Charterholder.
Iqbal Ali, PhD
Director of Supply Chain
PhD in Materials Science U of Arizona. Worked for Intel, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments. Spent two years building a FAB in Moscow.
Brody McMann
Lead on Quality, ISO, ITAR
A Military Veteran with 25 years’ experience in semiconductor Lean manufacturing, management & quality. Previous experience includes Intel, Maxim, Microsemi/Microchip & SiCamore.