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EE Times’ 2009 list named ten women leading work across microelectronics, from semiconductor manufacturing and electronic-design automation (EDA) to IP licensing, foundry strategy and company creation. The feature was published on November 4, 2009, and reprinted by EDN; its roster and job titles are historical, not a guide to the executives’ current roles.
Who was on EE Times’ Top 10 list?
EE Times said it compiled an international list celebrating women who were business and technology leaders in microelectronics. The ten profiles were asked the same questions and presented alphabetically by surname. Their breadth matters: the list was not limited to chip designers, but included leaders in manufacturing, software and design tools, semiconductor IP, distribution and industry institutions.
| Name | Role identified in the 2009 profile | Career and contribution highlighted |
|---|---|---|
| Reynette Au | VP of corporate strategy and alliances, Atheros Communications | Her profile described work at ARM promoting semiconductor IP licensing and the “Architecture for the Digital World” brand, alongside earlier engineering and management roles at AMD, AT&T Microelectronics, Arrow Electronics and IBM. She emphasized practical, user-focused technology. |
| Elke Eckstein | Executive vice president and COO, Osram Opto Semiconductors | Her path ran through Siemens/Infineon, AMD manufacturing, ProMos and Altis Semiconductor before leadership in LED and OLED operations. |
| Judy Estrin | CEO, JLABS | A former Cisco CTO and serial technology entrepreneur, she co-founded Bridge Communications, Network Computing Devices, Precept Software and Packet Design. The profile also named her book Closing the Innovation Gap. |
| Harriet Green | President and CEO, Premier Farnell; non-executive director, Emerson Electric | The interview focused on developing people, execution, flexible work and the influence of early educational choices. |
| Penny Herscher | President and CEO, FirstRain | Previously CEO of EDA company Simplex Solutions, she led it to a 2001 IPO and its 2002 sale to Cadence. Her earlier experience included Synopsys and Texas Instruments. |
| Mar Hershenson | VP of product development, custom design business unit, Magma Design Automation | She co-founded Barcelona Design and Sabio Labs, worked at Linear Technology and Apple, and was credited with eight patents, with others pending. |
| Christine King | President and CEO, SMSC | She had previously led AMI Semiconductor. In the interview, she called becoming the first woman CEO in the semiconductor business her greatest accomplishment. |
| Kathryn Kranen | President and CEO, Jasper Design Automation | Her career included Quickturn, Verisity and Jasper. The profile noted her Marie R. Pistilli Women in EDA Achievement Award. |
| Maria Marced | President, TSMC Europe | A senior leader previously at Intel and Philips/NXP, she spoke about choosing electronics and semiconductors to make a difference and connected diversity with innovation. |
| Gabriele Saucier | CEO, Design & Reuse | An IEEE fellow, she founded Innovative Synthesis Technologies and Design and Reuse, launched Euroasic and IP/SoC conferences, and had published more than 350 papers in design and EDA, according to the 2009 article. |
What kinds of leadership did the profiles represent?
Operations and manufacturing
Eckstein’s career illustrates leadership in semiconductor production and optoelectronics, including LED and OLED operations. King’s executive career also spanned semiconductor companies, while Green’s profile brought a distribution business and organization-wide people development into the picture.
Design tools, engineering and entrepreneurship
Herscher and Kranen led EDA companies, while Hershenson combined custom-chip design experience with founding and product-development roles. Estrin’s sequence of company co-foundings and technology leadership shows another route: building businesses around emerging communications and computing technologies.
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IP, foundry strategy and industry infrastructure
Au’s work on semiconductor IP licensing addressed how chip technology could be reused and adopted through business models, not only through engineering. Marced brought a foundry and international corporate perspective. Saucier’s companies, publications and conferences helped build infrastructure for the design and IP/SoC communities.
What themes did the women emphasize?
Persistence, risk and solving real problems
The profiles describe careers that involved both company-building and leadership through change. Kranen advised being opportunistic but determined, and framed her vision as solving important unsolved customer problems. Hershenson said, “My greatest pride is not having given up after failing on my first start-up.” King’s advice was similarly direct: “I always say persistence pay and never give up. If you cannot go through, go around.”
Education and early encouragement
Several executives argued that preparation begins well before a first job: stronger mathematics and science education, visible role models, mentoring and encouragement for girls matter. Kranen’s advice to girls who asked how to become a CEO was: “When I speak with groups of girls, and they ask how they can eventually become a CEO, I stress math, math, and math.”
Eckstein recalled that women were “an exotic experience” in microelectronics when she began in the 1980s. She called for education, equal opportunity, mentoring and childcare. Saucier likewise described participation as “a school and family orientation issue and, above all, a cultural issue.”
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Making technology useful and broadening participation
Au summarized her approach this way: “I insist on viewing technology from a practical and user-focused perspective.” Marced said, “I have always wanted to make a difference!!” and linked diversity with innovation. Her 2009 interview compared women’s participation at Madrid Polytechnic when she studied there—about 2 per 1,000—with the roughly 30 percent level she later observed. Those figures are her account of that institution at two different times, not a general measure of women in engineering.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What do the figures in the interviews mean?
The numbers in the feature describe specific people, institutions or programs rather than the industry as a whole.
- 4,100 employees: Green said Premier Farnell’s eLife program covered all 4,100 employees globally, as described in her 2009 interview.
- 12 university scholarships: Green said the company sponsored 12 university scholarships globally in electronics.
- More than 350 papers: The 2009 article’s biography of Saucier credited her with publishing more than 350 papers in design and EDA.
A separate 2017 EE Times project reported that women received about 20 percent of undergraduate engineering degrees and made up 13 percent of the engineering workforce. Those are 2017 figures, distinct from the 2009 list and Marced’s institution-specific account.
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