SEMI Board Welcomes New Members From Advantest, TEL US, Westerwood Global
January 10, 2023 | SEMIEstimated reading time: 2 minutes

SEMI announced the election of three new members to the SEMI North America Advisory Board (NAAB): Colin Ritchie, Vice President of Industry & Government Relations at Advantest; Nate Baxter, President of Tokyo Electronic Ltd. (TEL) US; and Nigel Wenden, Chief Executive Officer at Westerwood Global.
The Board appointments took effect Jan. 1, 2023. Members serve a three-year term. The SEMI NAAB is the principal advocate for member companies located in North America. The Board provides guidance on SEMI Americas programs designed to advance the business interests of member companies and address significant challenges in the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain.
“The SEMI North America Advisory Board warmly welcomes Colin, Nate and Nigel,” said Joe Stockunas, president of SEMI Americas. “Each brings extensive industry experience to the Board and are intimately familiar with SEMI through their participation in SEMI events including Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) and International Trade Partners Conference (ITPC) as well as SEMI workforce development and advocacy programs. Their expertise and stewardship will be vital as member companies face ever-increasing chip industry complexity and look to seize new business and technology opportunities amid strong secular industry growth.”
As Vice President Industry & Government Relations at Advantest, Colin Ritchie leads external industry engagements and government advocacy. Ritchie has more than 30 years of industry experience leading teams in engineering, operations, marketing, product management, investor and corporate relations as well as M&A ventures. He joined Advantest-Verigy (formerly HP and Agilent) in 2008 through the acquisition of Inovys, a venture capital-backed startup that developed innovative Design for Test solutions. Prior to Inovys, Ritchie spent more than 15 years at Schlumberger, where he held key engineering, operations, product line management, and marketing positions in Asia, Europe, and North America. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland.
As President of TEL US, Nate Baxter leads production of semiconductor and flat panel manufacturing equipment. Prior to his current role, Baxter was General Manager of the Development and Production division of TEL US and President of the TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America, Inc. (TMEA) subsidiary. Baxter’s previous roles at TEL included Technology General Manager for one of the company’s large customer accounts and President of TEL US subsidiary TEL Epion. Prior to joining TEL in 2007, Baxter worked for more than a decade at Intel in various technology, supplier development and management roles. He holds a master’s degree in Materials Science from Georgia Institute of Technology and undergraduate degrees in Physics from Rollins College and Physical Metallurgy from Georgia Institute of Technology.
As Chief Executive Officer of Westerwood Global and President of Westerwood Global Board of Directors, Nigel Wenden oversees private equity, strategy, marketing, and international operations. Westerwood is a leading provider of managed service solutions to the semiconductor, solar, flat panel, LED and storage industries. Prior to Westerwood Global, Wenden served as President of Banner Industries, CEO of MDC Precision and held leadership positions with Mattson Technology, Edwards Vacuum, NWC Consulting and Millipore Corporation. He holds a bachelor of science degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Coventry University and a diploma in Manufacturing and Production Engineering from Anglia Ruskin University.
Suggested Items
Tata Electronics, Bosch Sign MoU for Strategic Collaboration in Electronics and Semiconductor Manufacturing
07/18/2025 | Tata ElectronicsTata Electronics, a leading player in the Indian electronics and semiconductor manufacturing sector, and Robert Bosch GmbH, a leading global supplier of technology and services, announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on several key areas within the electronics and semiconductor industries.
HANZA Accelerates the LYNX Program Through Acquisition of Defense Manufacturer
07/18/2025 | HANZAHANZA AB has signed an agreement to acquire the contract manufacturing division of Milectria, a group of companies focused on the defense sector.
NEOTech’s Agave 1 Facility Earns AS9100 Certification for Commercial Aerospace Manufacturing Excellence
07/17/2025 | NEOTechNEOTech, a premier provider of electronic manufacturing services (EMS), integrated design engineering, and advanced supply chain solutions for the aerospace and defense, medical device, and high-tech industrial markets, proudly announces that its Agave 1 manufacturing facility in Juarez, Mexico has officially received AS9100 certification.
Libra Industries Launches In-House High Precision Underfill Capabilities
07/17/2025 | Libra IndustriesLibra Industries, a leading provider of systems integration and electronics manufacturing services (EMS), is excited to announce the addition of high-precision underfill to its in‑house manufacturing capabilities.
Fraunhofer IPMS, DIVE Optimize Semiconductor Processes with Cutting-Edge Measurement System
07/17/2025 | Fraunhofer IPMSThe Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS, in collaboration with DIVE imaging systems GmbH, has achieved a major milestone in resource-efficient semiconductor manufacturing.