Promoting the UK semiconductor industry

Raj has over 30 years of experience in the semiconductor field having held senior technical and commercial roles in semiconductor organisations spanning IP, Fabless and IDM business models. He is now COO of the newly formed UK Semiconductor Centre - with an ambitious plan to strengthen the UK semiconductor ecosystem and grow international partnerships.

In his early career, Raj was part of initial IEEE 802.11 team to define first WLAN standard in 1996 – a technology which has now shipped many billions of units. Raj also helped pioneer the first 3G data transmissions working with Motorola and others to demonstrate one of the first 3G video calls at the 3GSM show in 1998 – many years before 3G licences were awarded. 

Raj was a founder member of 3G technology startup UbiNetics (1999), that successfully exited in 2005 for over $120m USD. As part of that deal, Raj joined CSR and ultimately took the role of VP Marketing where he was part of the team that acquired SiRF Technologies for $136m (2009) to add GPS technology to CSR portfolio. In 2012, he helped sell CSR’s handset business to Samsung in a deal worth $310m for 310 staff. As part of Samsung, Raj was promoted to VP heading up the SCSC division leading the silicon and software development for Samsung’s chipsets for over a decade, providing connectivity technology that shipped in hundreds of millions of Samsung products.

Raj has held a number of board positions including Chair of Cambridge Wireless and NED for CSA Catapult bringing experience and advice on the global semiconductor market.

Alexandra Leadley is an experienced workforce and skills strategist with a career spanning over 15 years across higher education, the advanced technology sector and the creative industries. She plays a pivotal role in aligning UK skills development with industrial strategy, driving public-private collaboration, and leading national and international workforce initiatives. Her work focuses on talent pipeline development, policy influence, and creating long term impact. 

She sits on several national advisory groups, including the DSIT Compound Semiconductor Skills Group and the Innovate UK Workforce Foresighting Hub. Alexandra is known for her ability to build cross-sector partnerships, secure funding, and lead inclusive initiatives. Alexandra is a passionate advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion and has consistently championed programmes that create accessible pathways into high-growth industries. 

Dr Jalal Bagherli brings broad experience of working with a number of the world’s largest brands in the electronics industry. Jalal is the Board Chair of PTSL Ltd. He was the CEO of Dialog Semiconductor plc (“Dialog”) from 2005 until the successful sale of the company to Japan’s Renasas in 2021. Under Jalal’s leadership, Dialog became a world leader in mobile power management and connectivity products, selling to most of the major companies in the consumer electronics and mobile phone sector. His earlier career included roles as CEO of Alphamosaic and before that at Sony Semiconductor and Devices Europe as Vice President and Managing Director.

Jonathan was appointed Chair of CSA Catapult’s Board of Directors in 2024 and subsequently co-chair of the new UKSC.

He graduated in Physics from Imperial College in 1982, and holds an MBA from Southampton University Management School. He started his career designing scientific and communications satellites at Marconi, where he worked for twenty years, including after its acquisition by BAE Systems, progressing to managing director at Marconi and BAE Systems.

In 2005, he was appointed CEO of Oxford Instruments – the first substantial spin-out company from Oxford University, serving for 11 years. Jonathan is currently Executive Chairman of Refeyn.

Other appointments include a Non-executive Director (NED) for Stadium plc and Senior Independent NED for Cobham plc, a leading UK defence and communications equipment contractor. 

Jonathan was President of the Institute of Physics (IOP) between 2019 and 2021, and is a Fellow of both the IOP and the Royal Academy of Engineering. He was awarded a CBE in 2012 ‘for services to Business and Science’.

Nick McKeown (PhD/MS UC Berkeley ’95/’92; B.E Univ. of Leeds, ’86) is the Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield and Sequoia Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford University, Visiting Professor of Engineering at Oxford University, Senior Research Fellow at Somerville College, Oxford and Senior Fellow at Intel. 

From 1986-1989 he worked for Hewlett-Packard Labs in Bristol, England. In 1995, he helped architect Cisco's GSR 12000 router. Nick was co-founder and CTO at Abrizio (acquired by PMC-Sierra, 1998), co-founder and CEO of Nemo (“Network Memory”),acquired by Cisco, 2005. In 2007 he co-founded Nicira (acquired by VMware). Nick was chairman and co-founder of Barefoot Networks in 2013 (acquired by Intel, 2019). In 2011, he co-founded the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) with Scott Shenker; the Open Networking Lab (ON.Lab) with Guru Parulkar and Scott Shenker; and P4.org with Jen Rexford and Amin Vahdat.

From 2021 to 2023 he was SVP of the Network and Edge Computing Group (NEX) and Senior Fellow at Intel.

Nick is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Inventors, and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK), the IEEE and the ACM. He received the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal (2021), the IET Mountbatten Medal (2021), the NEC Computer and Communications Prize (2015), the British Computer Society Lovelace Medal (2005), the IEEE Kobayashi Computer and Communications Award (2009), the ACM Sigcomm Lifetime Achievement Award (2012), the IEEE Rice communications theory award (1999). 

Nick has an Honorary Doctorate from ETH (Zurich, 2014). His current research interests include making networks more programmable, from the control and management down to how packets are processed on the wire, and tools and platforms for networking teachers and researchers.

Jillian Hughes began her career with a recognised apprenticeship at National Semiconductor in Greenock, Scotland, completing her training in 1991. Over the next 15 years, she built deep technical expertise in semiconductor equipment and process engineering, working with major multinational companies including Seagate Microelectronics, Motorola, and Freescale Semiconductor.

She went on to lead operations across several specialised semiconductor businesses, focusing on the manufacture, refurbishment, sale, and service of high‑value capital equipment.

In April 2020, Jillian was appointed NMI Director at Techworks, the UK’s semiconductor trade association. In this role, she drew on her extensive industry knowledge to support UK semiconductor companies and worked closely with industry and academia to raise the sector’s profile within Government.

Jillian later served as Chief Operating and Financial Officer at Dalrada Technology and Deposition Technology, where she oversaw the development and manufacture of advanced capital equipment for emerging semiconductor markets. She has since returned to Techworks as Head of Semiconductors, leading the Semiconductor Systems Design Network (DESN) and bringing together the UK’s dynamic chip design community to drive collaboration, innovation, and knowledge‑sharing.

Jillian also serves on the Board of Directors at Wafer Fab Solutions, where she provides strategic business and financial guidance.

Sean has nearly 40 years of experience in the semiconductor and software industries. Starting his career as a chip designer, he led two market-leading design teams, first in digital stereo sound for television and then the first embedded mobile phone chip with VLSI technology.

Sean was VP Europe for Verisity Design Inc, taking them from the start to over 160 customer sites throughout Europe in 5 years. He instigated and led the strategic partnership with Arm, fuelling its meteoric rise and successful IPO. Following their acquisition by Cadence, Sean became VP & GM of Cadence EMEA, doubling its business in 3 years. As VP WW Sales and Marketing for ARC, he helped turn its cash flow positive, leading to the eventual sale to Synopsys. 

In 2010 he founded and has been the CEO of Vertizan Limited, the developer of the Vitaq AI-driven Test Automation tool suite. He is Chairman of a UK semiconductor company, Cascoda Ltd. 

Sean has recently worked closely with the UK government on industrial digital strategy, co-chairing the ElecTech council and became a core member of the Secretary of State's industrial digital leadership team. He has a BSc(hons), MSc EE from Kings College, London and MBA from Henley Management College.

Jutta is an experienced finance executive who has held senior positions at global semiconductor companies for over 25 years.

She joined IQE in January 2024 from Intel Corporation, where she served as a Senior Finance Director at Intel Foundry Services, supporting Intel's Foundry business transformation. Prior to joining Intel, Jutta served as Vice President of Finance at GlobalFoundries Inc, a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing, and she also held various positions at Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), a multinational semiconductor company. She holds an MBA from Technische Universität Dresden.

Chris joined the UK Civil Service from the tech sector and has since held senior roles spanning business, trade, and technology. This includes developing and delivering Industrial and Digital Strategies and leading on Digital Economy and Tech across Asia Pacific, while based at the British High Commission in Singapore.

In his current role, Chris leads the DSIT (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) Semiconductor team. In line with the Government's Growth Mission and Industrial Strategy, this includes supporting the growth of the UK's semiconductor sector and supporting economic and national security.