About Products Markets Technology Resources Support About › Leadership › Executive Team About Immersion Company Overview Leadership Executive Team Board of Directors News & Events Investor Relations Careers Contact Us The Immersion Team At Immersion, we want to bring the sense of touch to every office, home, automobile, classroom, and hospital. An ambitious goal like this requires a diverse team of leaders -- each with the vision, discipline, and determination to turn ideas into innovations. Mr. Victor Viegas, President and Chief Executive Officer Viegas joined Immersion as Chief Financial Officer in 1999, was part of the team that took the company public, and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in 2002. Under Viegas’s leadership the company built a strong intellectual property portfolio with a deep and defensible position in haptics today with over 1200 patents granted or pending. The company successfully defended its portfolio in two high profile cases, netting in excess of $150 M for the company. The company invested in markets and technologies organically and through several acquisitions that have become long-term growth opportunities, and Viegas steered the company to profitability in 2007. He retired in early 2008 and returned to the active leadership role in October 2009. Prior to Immersion, Viegas served as Chief Financial Officer of Macrovision Corporation, a developer and licensor of video and software copy protection technologies. From 1986 to 1996, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Balco Incorporated, a manufacturer of advanced automotive service equipment. He holds a B.S. in Accounting and an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University. Top of Page Mr. Paul Norris, Chief Financial Officer Paul Norris joined Immersion in May 2012; his responsibilities include strategic planning and analysis, budgeting and forecasting, accounting and financial reporting, treasury, tax, IT, compliance and investor relations. Prior to Immersion, Norris served as Executive Vice President, CFO and General Counsel of Sonic Solutions, a publicly-traded digital media company which licensed software products and entertainments solutions. While there, Norris managed global financial operations, legal strategy, domestic and international merger and acquisition transactions, and Sonic’s sale in 2011 to Rovi Corporation, a publicly-traded digital entertainment technology solutions and IP licensing company. Subsequent to the sale, Norris served as an executive advisor to Rovi, assisting with acquisition integration activities, and as a partner at Accanto Partners, LLC, an investment fund focused on technology and digital media companies. Previously, Norris was a founding partner of Steiner Norris PLLC, a Seattle-based law firm which advised technology companies. Norris holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a JD degree from Harvard Law School. Top of Page Mr. Dennis Sheehan, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing Dennis Sheehan is responsible for leading all sales, product and corporate marketing activities including overall strategy and go-to-market activities for Immersion’s TouchSense solutions and technology licenses in the rapidly growing market for touch feedback-enabled products. Sheehan has a depth of experience in bringing innovative embedded technologies to market in mobile, personal computer and consumer electronics products. He has built his career developing and collaborating with ecosystem partners in the complex consumer electronics market. Prior to Immersion, Sheehan was Senior Director of Product Management at SiRF Technology, a leading supplier of GPS semiconductor solutions for mobile phones and personal navigation devices. Before that, he was Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for Varatouch, an intellectual property components and software company focused on human input devices for hand-held consumer electronics. Earlier in his career, Sheehan held various senior marketing positions over twelve years at Intel. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Top of Page Mr. Rob Lacroix, Vice President, Engineering Rob Lacroix is responsible for all product development activities including transforming innovative proof-of-concepts into commercial solutions that meet performance and value expectations. During his tenure at Immersion, Lacroix has held a range of positions, including director of software development, Mobility Engineering program manager, and General Manager of Immersion Canada. Before joining Immersion in 2000, he developed firmware for a number of customers that included Haptic Technologies (acquired by Immersion in 2000), the Canadian Space Agency, and other embedded systems device manufacturers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University. Top of Page Ms. Janice Passarello, Vice President, Human Resources Janice Passarello joined Immersion in July 2007 and is responsible for all human resources strategies, programs, and services. Previously, she held human resources management positions at Harmonic, Microsoft, Trimble Navigation, and Quantum. She has a bachelor’s degree in social science/human resources management from California Polytechnic State University and certifications in several human resources areas. Top of Page Ms. Anne Marie Peters, General Counsel and Vice President, Legal Amie Peters joined Immersion in December 2008. Previously, she was corporate associate, then corporate partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP and diagnostic manufacturing associate, then diagnostic manufacturing supervisor at Chiron Corporation. She has a bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley; an MBA from the University of California Davis Graduate School of Management; and a JD degree from the University of California Davis School of Law. Peters was admitted to the California State Bar in 1999. Top of Page Mr. Chris Ullrich, Vice President, User Experience Chris Ullrich is responsible for ensuring that haptic products and technologies designed and developed at Immersion are highly valued by users, developers and OEM customers. Since joining Immersion in 2000, Mr. Ullrich has worked across departments to innovate, develop and bring to market a variety of technologies. He also directed software research and development in 3D, directed the medical simulation engineering team and led the design and development of next generation surgical instruments. Prior to working at Immersion, he held several research and engineering roles at Virtual Technologies Inc. and Telesat Canada. He holds a M.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of British Columbia and a B.Math from the University of Waterloo. Top of Page Mr. Jason Patton, Vice President & General Manager of Content & Media Business Jason Patton is responsible for the development and management of Immersion's Content & Media business. Prior to joining Immersion, Patton was Senior Vice President, Business Development & Technology of YOD China, a publicly-traded company focused entirely on bringing advanced TV offerings featuring premium Hollywood content to mainland China. For a decade prior, Patton managed business development for In Demand Networks, the joint venture owned by Comcast, Cox and Time Warner Cable serving most recently as Senior Vice President, Business Development. Patton has also worked at AT&T in both business development and mergers & acquisitions. Patton holds a B.S. in broadcast journalism from Boston University, a B.S. in business administration from Boston University and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. Top of Page News & Events Blog Careers Developers Legal| Privacy Policy| Sitemap Copyright 2014 Immersion Corporation. All rights reserved.