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 800 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.

Amanda Daniel

Chief People Officer

Amanda Daniel is responsible for driving all aspects of SkyWater’s human resource strategy and execution. Her strong background includes the creation of organizational development programs that are derived from a culture based on diversity, equity and inclusion. As CHRO, she leads talent acquisition and retention strategies that further enable the execution of SkyWater’s business growth objectives.

With more than 20 years of experience in the high-tech manufacturing space, Ms. Daniel has gained critical knowledge leading high performance global HR teams. Prior to joining SkyWater, she served as senior vice president and CHRO at MTS Systems Corporation, a global supplier of test systems and industrial position sensors. Her previous roles include vice president of human resources at Twin City Fan Companies, Ltd., Equus Holdings, Inc. and Stratasys, Ltd.

Ms. Daniel holds a Bachelor of Science in applied psychology from St. Cloud State University and a Master of Arts in human resources and organizational development from the University of St. Thomas.

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.

Steven Kosier, Ph.D.

CTO

Steven Kosier is responsible for the technology platform offerings at SkyWater, partnering with companies to align SkyWater’s process flows, PDK, and IP offerings to customer end-market applications. He is also responsible for forming and managing strategic technology partnerships and alliances, developing the company’s technology roadmap and IP strategy, enhancing corporate technical vitality, and growing the value of the company’s technology portfolio.

His background includes 25 years of experience and successive growth in technical, marketing and business leadership positions. A founding member of PolarFab and Polar Semiconductor wafer foundries, he has developed and transferred to volume production many generations of analog, mixed-signal, and high-voltage technologies for automotive and industrial end markets. Most recently, Kosier was president at Kanomax FMT, a nanoparticle measurement instrumentation start-up with industry-leading resolution down to 2 nm.

Kosier is an adjunct professor of electrical engineering at Vanderbilt University, where his research interests include radiation effects on microelectronics and semiconductor device reliability physics.

He holds 14 U.S. patents and has authored or co-authored more than 30 publications in the areas of radiation effects, high voltage and power devices, integrated magnetic sensors and nanoparticle measurement solutions.

Kosier holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota, and a Master of Science and doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Arizona.

Mark Litecky

Chief Revenue Officer

Mark Litecky is focused on building and aligning revenue generating teams to meet the needs of targeted markets, further expand SkyWater’s diversified customer relationships, and drive profitable and predictable growth for the company. Mr. Litecky’s 30+ years of industry expertise includes: building out revenue teams, sales, marketing, revenue generation, strategic partnerships and business development. He has leadership skills in corporate strategy, organizational structure, technology development, new product roadmaps, engineering, operations, acquisitions, company integrations and IPOs.

Prior to SkyWater, Mr. Litecky served as sales & marketing vice president with GCM, a provider of product design and manufacturing serving medical, aerospace and industrial markets. Previously, he held various executive leadership positions. With Interlink, he worked on transitioning the company from a component supplier to a sensor systems solutions partner. Mr. Litecky served with Soligie (Molex), a leader in printed and flexible hybrid electronics, and with August Technology (Rudolph Technologies), a provider of automated visual inspection equipment used in manufacturing semiconductors, optoelectronics and data storage. He started his career at Rosemount Inc. (Emerson) in industrial process controls and sensors.

Mr. Litecky holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota.

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.

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.