SEMI North America Advisory Board Welcomes New Members From Peer Group, TEL US and TSMC

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SEMI announced the election of three new members to the SEMI North America Advisory Board (NAAB): Mike Kropp, President and CEO of PEER Group; Ben Rathsack, Vice President of Product and Technology Development of Tokyo Electron America, Inc. (TEL); and Peter Cleveland, Senior Vice President of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC).

The Board appointments took effect Feb. 22, 2023. Members serve a three-year term. The principal advocate for member companies located in North America, the NAAB provides guidance on SEMI Americas programs designed to advance their business interests and address significant challenges in the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain.

“The SEMI North America Advisory Board warmly welcomes Mike, Ben and Peter,” said Joe Stockunas, president of SEMI Americas. “Each has extensive industry experience that supports the Board’s interests in diversifying member representation. Mike Kropp of factory automation software supplier PEER Group, a mid-sized Canada-based company, actively contributes to more than 30 SEMI programs. Based in Austin, Texas, home to TEL’s U.S. headquarters, Ben Rathsack has extensive product development experience and passionately supports SEMI’s efforts to attract students to our industry. Peter Cleveland of TSMC has significant experience in advocacy, a key component of SEMI’s efforts to support members.”

“The expertise of these industry leaders will be instrumental in shaping the Board’s work to help member companies overcome ever-increasing chip industry challenges and drive new business and technology advancements in order to meet the needs of the fast-growing market for digital products and services,” Stockunas said.

As Co-Founder, President and CEO of PEER Group, Mike Kropp has led the company’s 30-year transformation from a provider of custom manufacturing software solutions to a global market leader in factory automation software and services. His hands-on technical leadership has set the company’s direction for solving customers’ manufacturing problems and delivering quality solutions on time and on budget.

Throughout his tenure, Kropp has defined strategies that have led to PEER Group’s position as a stable, high-performing, integrity-driven company respected for its domain expertise. Today, PEER Group software is used to automate more than 130 semiconductor equipment platforms, powering more than 90,000 pieces of equipment in virtually every chip factory around the world. Kropp holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto and is a licensed professional engineer in the province of Ontario.

As Vice President of Product and Technology Development at Tokyo Electron America, Inc., Ben Rathsack oversees product development across five business units. He also leads the team responsible for product engagement with customers as well as new technology development in lithography, etch, deposition and cleans. This includes development of advanced equipment, process, and software technologies in collaboration with TEL factories and corporate R&D teams.

His team also specializes in smart tool development including advanced computational engineering, new sensors, diagnostics, and software controls for autonomous operation. He has over 22 years of semiconductor development experience at TEL and Texas Instruments (TI) and has authored 50 publications and 30 granted patents. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in ChemE from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and Masters and Ph.D. degrees from University of Texas in Austin.

As Senior Vice President of TSMC, Peter Cleveland leads Government Relations Global Policy based in Washington, D.C. He helps drive technology industry consensus on global semiconductor policies, IP protection and enforcement, tax, trade, and export controls. He was a staff member on the Senate Finance and Foreign Relations Committee before serving 16 years in the U.S. Senate as Senator Diane Feinstein’s Chief of Staff.

Cleveland was also Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Intel and chaired the board of directors of trade associations including the Information Technology Industry Council and Trans-Atlantic Business Council. Cleveland is a member of the New York and Washington, D.C. Bar Associations and the Council on Foreign Relations. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University.