SBT C Suite Spotlight - Gene Sheridan, CEO Navitas Semiconductor - Full conversation

In this installment of the C Suite Spotlight, Vice President of Recruiting Jason Dubin talks with Gene Sheridan, CEO of Navitas Semiconductor.

Gene is an experienced semiconductor executive and one of the leaders in power electronics who has pioneered many industry 'firsts' in advanced power substrates like gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC).

After a successful career at International Rectifier that spanned over a decade, Gene became CEO of the VC-backed semiconductor startup, BridgeCo. Then, in 2014, he co-founded Navitas Semiconductor with his colleague Dan Kinzer, and they set out to develop GaN and SiC power semiconductors for widespread commercial applications.

Starting in a humble operation working out of a temporary trailer in Southern California, Navitas' advanced GaN and SiC devices began gaining traction in the market, and after seven years of focused effort, they went public in 2021 with over a $1 Billion IPO. They hit another big milestone last year -- shipping over one hundred million GaN devices.

Gene's work in the industry has earned him numerous awards, including the title of one of the "Top 10 Most Influential People in Power Electronics" by Power Electronics News. And for their many achievments, Navitas has been recognized by Forbes as one of America’s top 50 most successful small companies.

Here is the list of questions and timestamps:
00:00 - Opening
01:37 - What originally got you interested in engineering?
02:34 - Can you give the audience an overview of Navitas and explain what the company is focused on?
04:26 - What are some of the macro trends you see affecting power delivery and power management, and what applications is Navitas pursuing to drive growth?
06:30 - What made you believe that Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) could be so transformative?
08:35 - What is your favorite customer success story or, deployment of your technology, that has been most impactful to your team so far?
10:56 - Can you tell us about an experience of one of your earliest mistakes and share what you learned from it?
13:24 - Why do you think we haven't seen wider adoption of GaN and SiC yet and what challenges does the industry need to overcome to enable their proliferation?
16:28 - Semiconductor startups are not for the faint of heart. What challenges do you remember kept you up at night in the early days?
18:39 - As a startup company competing against larger companies, what strategies has Navitas employed to attract the right talent?
20:42 - From a culture standpoint, what are two things about Navitas' culture that you're most proud of, that people would be surprised to learn?
22:52 - Signoff

For more details about the work that Gene and his team at Navitas Semiconductor is doing, visit: https://navitassemi.com/

You can find and request to connect with Gene on LinkedIn:
  / gene-sheridan-9111644  

For more details about SBT talent solutions, visit:
https://www.sbtindustries.com

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