Team
Rainer Cholewa
President and CEO
Rainer joined SMI in October 2007 as president and CEO, after serving as senior consultant to ELMOS Semiconductor AG since December 2006.
Before joining SMI, he was managing director and member of the executive board at Carinthian Technology Research AG in Austria. He holds a degree in Technical Physics from the Technical University of Graz, where he worked one year at the Institute of Experimental Physics. His professional experience comes from managerial roles at Voest-Alpine AG in Linz, Austria, the Siemens electronic device production unit in Villach, Austria, and Siemens AG in Munich. He also managed the IBM and Siemens manufacturing joint venture in St. Denis, France. From 1997 to 1999 he led the contract negotiations between Siemens/Infineon and IBM, and was then appointed general manager of the Altis/SC joint venture in France.
Dr. Michael Doelle
Director of R&D
Michael joined SMI in 2006. His current responsibilities are the design and test of MEMS-based pressure sensors.
Prior to joining SMI, he was a researcher at the Microsystems Materials Laboratory at IMTEK, Freiburg (Germany) where he graduated with a Ph.D., specializing in field effect transistor-based CMOS stress sensors. He is co-author of more than 20 scientific papers. He studied Microsystems Technology at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and received his engineering degree in 2002.
Holger Doering
VP Operations
Holger joined SMI in 2007 as a consultant in operations and took over the responsibility for production, process engineering, IT, materials management, equipment and facilities at the beginning of 2008.
He started at ELMOS in 1995 as a process engineer and by 1997 was production engineering manager. From 1999 he was responsible for Production, Process Engineering and Plasma-Module Equipment.
In 2003 he began the transfer for 0.8µm process from the 6-inch fab in Dortmund to the 8-inch line of the joint ELMOS/ Fraunhofer IMS fab in Duisburg and in 2005 managed the 8-inch production in Duisburg.
Holger holds a diploma in electrical engineering from the University of Dortmund (Germany) with a focus on semiconductor manufacturing. He thesis work was carried out at ELMOS in 1994 where he developed a CMOS-compatible process module to produce monolithic integrated piezoresistive pressure sensors for a European project.
Michael Reno
VP, Sales and Marketing
Michael Reno joined SMI in September 2008. He was most recently Director of Sales, Asia Pacific and Western USA, at the Spectrum Plastics Division of the Barnes Group, Inc., a $1.4 billion international aerospace and industrial components manufacturer and distribution company.
Prior to the Barnes Group, Reno served in key sales management positions at Eaton’s Aeroquip Air Conditioning and Refrigerated Products Division, and Carlisle Food Service Products. He received his bachelor of science in business administration from Bowling Green State University.
Marc Konradt
Process Engineering Manager
Marc joined SMI in 2006 as a Process Engineering Manager, after working for ELMOS Semiconductor AG, the parent company of SMI, since 2002.
He holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from the University of Dortmund (Germany), with a focus on Semiconductor Manufacturing. During his studies he worked on a project to create optical switches using Si micromachining and on the development of sub 100nm transistor structures in a CMOS compatible process flow. His diploma thesis was entitled: "Introduction and improvement of new cleaning processes with ozone and spiked chemicals for the industrial semiconductor manufacturing"
Thomas Santilena
Finance Controller
Thomas Santilena joined SMI in 2001. Tom brings 30 years of experience as chief accountant and controller. His background is rooted primarily in manufacturing and wholesale industries.
Sandy Taylor
HR Manager
Sandy is responsible for leading SMI’s human resources efforts, including: compensation, benefits, staffing, employee relations, training, and compliance. Sandy has an extensive HR background that includes 18 years of previous experience in all facets of human resources. Sandy joined SMI in 2007.
Prior to assuming her current role, Sandy held leadership positions in various manufacturing, semiconductor, hard drive, and telecommunication companies. Her experience ranged from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.
Sandy has an MBA from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor’s degree from Union University in Tennessee. She is an active member of numerous professional organizations, including: Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), Women in Technology International (WITI), Northern California Human Resources Council (NCHRC), Peninsula Compensation Association (PCA), and Bay Area Human Resources Forum (BARF).
Dr. Steve Terry
Director of Technology
Steve joined Silicon Microstructures in 2002 and currently serves as the Director of Technology. He is leading a process development group with the goal of bringing new MEMS processes and designs to a wide variety of products for both SMI and its MEMS customers.
He received his B. S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970 and M. S. E. E. and Ph. D. degrees from Stanford University in 1971 and 1975 respectively. At Stanford, his pioneering work in silicon micromachining was the integration of a gas chromatography system on a single wafer of silicon. After he left Stanford, Steve founded Microsensor Technology to commercialize the miniature gas chromatograph. He later joined IC Sensors as Director of R&D where he lead the expansion of the pressure sensor product line, and the successful design and development of MEMS devices including accelerometers for airbags and inertial guidance, miniature silicon valves, pressure sensor arrays, optical switches and fiber alignment chips, and strain gages.
