Thomas Sonderman

CEO & Director

Thomas Sonderman was appointed as SkyWater’s lead executive and elected to the board of directors in 2017. As CEO, he oversees efforts to maximize shareholder value through collaborating with customers, partners and other external stakeholders to drive the company’s long-term vision for the future. He has been instrumental in driving the company’s successful business transformation from an IDM to a pure play foundry and he led SkyWater’s initial public offering in April 2021.

Mr. Sonderman has effectively diversified SkyWater’s customer base by defining new product markets and target customers while simultaneously improving operational efficiencies. He has leveraged SkyWater as a U.S.-based semiconductor foundry to expand the company’s government business and to reinstate a strong commercial manufacturing presence in the U.S. He has built a world class leadership team that inspires more than 700 employees to deliver process R&D innovation and operational excellence.

Prior to joining SkyWater, Mr. Sonderman’s extensive industry experience included all aspects of fab operations and delivering market leadership and increased shareholder value to high-technology industry leaders Rudolph Technologies, GLOBALFOUNDRIES and AMD. Notably, he played a critical role serving as part of an executive team at AMD that spun-off manufacturing operations to form GLOBALFOUNDRIES.

A widely recognized subject matter expert, Mr. Sonderman is the author of 50 patents and a highly sought-after industry speaker. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from National Technological University.

John Sakamoto

President & COO

John Sakamoto oversees all day-to-day business and manufacturing operations and is responsible for driving consistent profitability and implementing growth strategies, including ensuring smooth and efficient operations across the organization. He is responsible for cultivating key relationships with customers, suppliers and stakeholders for long-term business success. Additionally, Sakamoto leads the company’s functional areas related to delivering the technology as a service (TaaS) model to the market.

His experience includes 25 years in various executive leadership positions with Altera, Intel, and Marvell where he consistently achieved financial and strategic objectives through the implementation of effective business processes. His expertise includes market strategy, organizational growth, general management, business unit leadership, sales, operations, engineering and acquisition integration planning.

Sakamoto holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Steve Manko

CFO

Steve Manko utilizes his extensive finance background in working with his team to drive profitability and enhance the value of the organization. He achieves this by collaborating with other leaders in the company to understand their challenges and opportunities and develop a strategy for increased returns on investment.

Prior to joining SkyWater as CFO, Mr. Manko was managing director at Riveron Consulting where he led the Financial Advisory Services practice in Minneapolis. He and his team assisted companies through various change events such as acquisitions and internal process changes and optimizations. Previously, Mr. Manko was at Ernst & Young and specialized in the Banking & Capital Markets industries. He spent time in the Cleveland, Ohio and Honolulu, Hawaii offices, before moving with his family to the Twin Cities in 2015.

Mr. Manko holds a Master of Business Administration from The University of Akron and a Bachelor of Arts in accounting and business administration from Malone University. He is also a member of various accounting and finance committees and organizations.

Brad Ferguson, Ph.D.

Chief Gov't Affairs Officer, SVP Special Programs

Brad Ferguson is focused on accelerating the growth of SkyWater’s advanced packaging technology, expanding the company’s value chain, and strengthening strategic U.S. government relationships in support of microelectronics manufacturing. Previously, he served as chief technology officer, creating a strong foundation for this critical function. In this role, he was responsible for developing the company’s technology roadmap and IP strategy by identifying high growth markets for SkyWater’s Technology Foundry business. In addition, Ferguson was focused on leading SkyWater’s government relations efforts. Prior to this, he served as senior director of sales in the custom foundry line of business at SkyWater and was also responsible for the government relations strategy.

Mr. Ferguson started his career in photolithography process development at Cypress Semiconductor. In 2008, he started up the Cypress custom foundry business to provide differentiated solutions to technology innovators. He also drove the accreditation process to achieve Trusted Foundry status and secured many defense customers, which launched the site’s entry into the aerospace and defense market, a key component of SkyWater’s market strategy.

Mr. Ferguson received a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. He also received a doctorate and Master of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Chris Hilberg

Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel

Chris Hilberg is responsible for SkyWater’s legal and compliance functions, and provides the company’s management and board of directors with strategic and high-value business, corporate, governance, transactional and compliance advice, counsel and leadership. He leads SkyWater’s legal and compliance team, and oversees the company’s legal affairs, including corporate governance, commercial transactions, intellectual property, corporate and regulatory compliance, employment law and litigation.

Mr. Hilberg’s more than 20 years as an attorney include extensive, broad-based experience at large law firms and in-house. He routinely advises Fortune 500 companies on commercial transactions, risk management, compliance, global sourcing and supply chain functions and intellectual property strategy.

Mr. Hilberg has an undergraduate degree in physics from Carleton College, a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, and is a licensed patent attorney before the USPTO.

Paul Sura

EVP, Technology & Manufacturing Operations

Paul Sura oversees SkyWater’s Minnesota and Florida fabs including Advanced Technology Services (ATS) and Wafer Services (WS), information technology, supply chain management, enterprise operations and quality.  His role encompasses all elements necessary to execute the operational fundamentals of the company. Mr. Sura’s strategic leadership expertise includes developing efficient methods for enhanced performance, improved quality and cost savings, while delivering best practices company-wide.

His decades of experience include managing complex operationally focused supply chains using advanced digital technology at both integrated device manufacturers and semiconductor foundries. He has honed these skills at Intel, Maxim/ADI, GlobalFoundries and most recently Micron. Mr. Sura’s background includes a strong understanding of the electronics ecosystem and the role of semiconductors. His capabilities include scaling manufacturing in wafer services and advanced technology by driving profitable output while building manufacturing excellence.

Mr. Sura holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Ross Miller

SVP, Commercial and A&D Business

Ross Miller is responsible for leading and growing SkyWater’s commercial and aerospace & defense business units as well as the program management and platform marketing functions. He joined the company in 2018 as marketing director and focused on creating an identity for SkyWater and the Technology as a Service (TaaS) business model through the early growth stage. He then spearheaded the initial business unit at SkyWater and has worked to scale those operations and formalize the platform marketing and program management teams.

Miller leverages a diverse foundation of technical, operational and business management experience for identifying strategies, establishing plans and executing to achieve business objectives. Prior to joining SkyWater, he was vice president of marketing and sales for Agnitron Technology, a compound semiconductor startup. His previous experience includes positions at Eaton Corp, NVE Corp, Microsoft, and in the Space and Missiles Systems Group as an active duty Air Force officer.

Miller holds a Bachelor of Science in physics from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master of Science in electrical engineering from North Dakota State University.

Laura Lorenz

Sr. Vice President of Human Resources

Laura Lorenz is a seasoned and accomplished leader in the field of human resources bringing over 22 years of strategic experience to SkyWater. She oversees a comprehensive approach to HR encompassing talent, culture, and organization strategies. She is responsible for shaping the company’s employee development, streamlining HR processes, and enhancing diversity and inclusion. She has a passion for helping people and organizations reach their full potential.

Ms. Lorenz began her HR career in manufacturing facilities and held HR roles of increasing responsibility across all 3M businesses and geographies. Most recently, she served as vice president of human resources for the company’s transportation and electronics business group. In this role, she provided strategic counsel to business leaders, direction to globally dispersed HR teams, and support and engagement to 4,000 professional employees. She also spent almost two years in Shanghai, China, as the vice president and head of HR for the Greater China Area, leading an HR organization through transformational changes.

Ms. Lorenz earned a Master’s degree in human resources industrial relations from the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management and a Bachelor’s degree in business administration – human resources from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Sudhakar Adivikolanu, Ph.D.

SVP, Supply Chain and Information Technology

Sudhakar Adivikolanu’s role encompasses all elements necessary to excel customer delivery performance goals, achieve supply chain excellence and resiliency and set a strong IT foundation to support both enterprise growth and next generation smart manufacturing.

His decades of experience include success in managing complex and global supply chains and architecting and implementing digital transformations in various semiconductor, high tech and manufacturing environments. He has garnered these skills at Skyworks, Maxim/ADI, SanDisk/Western Digital and i2/BlueYonder. Mr. Adivikolanu’s background includes a strong understanding of supply chain fundamentals, manufacturing systems and operations and enterprise digital transformations with deep system and process knowledge.  He has a strong academic background and has authored publications in advanced process control related to semiconductor manufacturing.

Mr. Adivikolanu holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India. He also received a doctorate and Master of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park.