Executives
Deirdre Hanford – Chief Executive Officer & Trustee
Deirdre Hanford was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of Natcast in January 2024. Prior to Natcast, Hanford served as an executive at Synopsys, a technology and market leader in electronic design automation and semiconductor design intellectual property. Over the span of thirty-six years, Hanford’s roles included being Chief Security Officer, Co-General Manager of the Synopsys Design Group, and leader of a variety of customer engagement, applications engineering, sales and marketing groups.
Dr. Robert Chau – Senior Vice President of Research
Dr. Chau joins Natcast after spending 36 years in semiconductor R&D at Intel Corporation, where he was promoted to Intel Fellow in 2000 and to Intel Senior Fellow in 2005. From 2014 – 2022, Dr. Chau was the general manager of Intel Components Research group responsible for driving Intel’s internal semiconductor and packaging research and external R&D engagements. In 2022, Dr. Chau became the director of Intel Europe Research, where he was responsible for establishing Intel’s semiconductor R&D infrastructure across Europe and expanding its partnership with the European R&D ecosystem to develop enabling innovations for Moore’s Law extension and future advanced microelectronics. Dr. Chau is an IEEE Fellow and an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.
Susan Feindt – Senior Vice President of Ecosystem Development
Prior to Natcast Feindt was an executive and senior technical fellow at Analog Devices where she led technology strategy and innovations, specializing in advanced process and device development. Feindt’s career at ADI spanned thirty-six years where her leadership, mentorship, and technical innovations resulted in the commercialization of numerous technologies. She has served on multiple industry and academic advisory boards, including as vice-chair of the Department of Commerce CHIPS Industrial Advisory Committee (IAC). Feindt earned her B.S. from M.I.T. At Natcast, Feindt will focus on defining membership strategy, prioritizing program offerings, and advocating for the semiconductor ecosystem’s interests.
Lauren Larson – Chief Financial Officer & Chief Administrative Officer
Larson joins Natcast with a 26-year track record of successfully advising governments and corporations on investment, regulatory, and tax strategies. She has served in leadership positions under two Colorado governors, most recently as the Cabinet-appointed Budget Director overseeing a $40 billion enterprise. She was elected by her CFO peers in the 50 states to be President of the National Association of State Budget Officers, serving in this position from 2022 – 2023.
Previously, Larson was a leader at the White House Office of Management & Budget under three U.S. presidents. She served as Chief of the Treasury Branch under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and played a critical role in deploying the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Larson also advised corporate clients on tax strategies as an economist at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. She holds degrees from Syracuse University (BA) and the University of Michigan (MPP). She serves on the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Public Administration and is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Jeremy Licht – General Counsel
Licht joins Natcast after serving in senior legal roles at the Department of Commerce, where he focused on key strategic policy initiatives, including the legal implementation of the CHIPS Act semiconductor manufacturing incentives program, and other priority funding areas. Before joining the federal government, Licht served as Director of Rhode Island’s Pandemic Recovery Office, where he oversaw legal and compliance matters for the use of federal COVID relief funding, and as General Counsel to the Rhode Island Executive Office of Commerce, where he led the implementation of a suite of economic incentive programs to support construction, job creation, and infrastructure. Licht has worked as general counsel to a venture backed startup in Boston, as an intellectual property litigator in New York, and as clerk to judges at both the federal appellate and district court levels. He is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School.
John D. Ratliff – Vice President & Executive Director of the NSTC Workforce Center of Excellence
Ratliff comes to Natcast from CHIPS for America, where he served as head of R&D workforce strategy. His previous roles include serving as counselor to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and director of policy and strategic planning for the Commerce Department. Prior to Commerce, Ratliff spent seven years as director of policy for the state of Maryland. He has also served as a fellow and director of policy innovation at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. Ratliff brings decades of experience leading efforts to prepare talent and build prosperity and in an era of dramatic change. He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.P. and a B.A. from the University of Virginia.
Trustees
Robin Abrams, Interim Chair
Robin Abrams has over four decades of experience in building and operating technology companies and start-ups. Prior leadership roles include service as Interim CEO of ZILOG, Inc., a provider of integrated microcontroller products; CEO of Firefly Communications, Inc.; CEO of VeriFone, a world leader in payment and commerce solutions; and President of Apple Americas. She earned her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Nebraska.
Craig R. Barrett
Craig R. Barrett is the retired CEO and Chairman of Intel Corporation, where he rose through the ranks to become Chief Operating Officer in 1993, President in 1997, Chief Executive Officer in 1998 and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors from 2005 to 2009. Today, he is an advocate for improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. He earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from Stanford University.
L. Reginald (Reggie) Brothers
L. Reginald (Reggie) Brothers is a Principal with MIT Lincoln Laboratory and an Operating Partner at AE Industrial. He served as CEO of BigBear.ai; CTO of Peraton; and Principal with The Chertoff Group. Prior, he served as Under Secretary, Science and Technology, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Deputy Assistant Secretary, Research, U.S. Department of Defense; as well as senior roles at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, BAE Systems, Draper Laboratory, Envoy Networks, and Lincoln Laboratory. He earned his B.S.E.E. from Tufts University, M.S.E.E. from Southern Methodist University, and Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Anantha Chandrakasan
Anantha Chandrakasan is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer, dean of MIT’s School of Engineering, and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Chandrakasan’s contributions to engineering and technology have earned him numerous accolades, including the 2022 IEEE Mildred Dresselhaus Medal and the 2013 IEEE Donald O. Pederson Award in Solid-State Circuits. He is a fellow of the IEEE and a member of the National Academy of Engineering, American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the Association for Computing Machinery. Chandrakasan currently serves on the SMART Governing Board and previously served on the boards of Analog Devices Inc., The Engine, and the Perkins School for the Blind.
Nicholas (Nick) Donofrio
Nicholas (Nick) Donofrio is a 44–year IBM veteran who led IBM’s technology and innovation strategies from 1997 until his retirement in October 2008. He was also the Vice Chairman of the IBM International Foundation and the Chairman of the Board of Governors for the IBM Academy of Technology. His most recent responsibilities included IBM Research, Governmental Programs, Technical Support & Quality, Corporate Community Relations, and Environmental Health & Product Safety. He holds seven technology patents and is a member of numerous technical and science honor societies. He earned his B.S.E.E. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and M.S.E.E. from Syracuse University.
Donna L. Dubinsky
Donna L. Dubinsky is an entrepreneur best known as CEO of Palm Computing and Handspring, pioneers of the first successful handheld computers and smartphones. She co-founded and served as Chair/CEO of Numenta since 2005, where she continues to act as Chair. Donna recently served as Senior Counselor to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. She also served on the Board of Yale University from 2006-2018, including two years as Senior Trustee; and was a director of Intuit from 1999-2006. She earned a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Erica R.H. Fuchs
Erica R.H. Fuchs is Professor of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and by courtesy, Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. She is the founding Director of the National Network for Critical Technology Assessment, and was the founding Director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Manufacturing Futures Initiative, which today is an endowed Institute. She serves on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Corporation Visiting Committee for the MIT Institute for Data, Systems and Society. She earned her Ph.D., SM, and SB degrees from MIT.
Michael Splinter
Michael Splinter is the former Executive Chairman of Applied Materials. He joined the company as President and CEO in 2003, and became chairman of the board in 2009. Prior, Splinter spent 20 years at Intel Corporation, where he held leadership position in Sales and Marketing and the Technology and Manufacturing Group. Splinter served as Chairman of NASDAQ from 2017-2022 and is currently lead director. He is also a Director of TSMC, Kioxia Holdings Co., and Gogoro Inc, and is a General Partner of WISC Partners, a regional VC. Splinter was formerly Chairman of the Industrial Advisory Committee for the CHIPS and Science Act. He earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering, as well as an honorary doctorate, from the University of Wisconsin. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineers in 2017 and is a recipient of SIA’s prestigious Robert Noyce award.