Home About Us Corporate Governance & Values Board of Directors Board of Directors The Board oversees the management of Synopsys' business operations, and ensures the long-term interests of Synopsys' stockholders are served. Our Board members bring with them decades of experience in the software, semiconductor, manufacturing and distribution industries. To learn more about committees of the Board of Directors, visit the Board Committees area of this site. Dr. Aart J. de Geus Since co-founding Synopsys in 1986, Dr. Aart de Geus has expanded Synopsys from a start-up synthesis enterprise to the world leader in electronic design automation. Dr. de Geus has long been considered one of the world's leading experts on logic synthesis and simulation, and frequently keynotes major conferences in Electronics and Design Automation. He is the recipient of numerous industry and community honors, including Electronic Business Magazine’s “CEO of the Year” (2002) and “Top 10 Most Influential Executives” (2005), the IEEE Robert N. Noyce Medal (2007), the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG) "Spirit of the Valley" Lifetime Achievement Award” (2007), and the GSA “Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award” (2009). Dr. de Geus is active in the business community, serving on the Boards of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG), Applied Materials, the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA), and the Electronic Design Automation Consortium (EDAC). He is also heavily involved in education for the next generation, having created the Synopsys Outreach Foundation in 1999, which promotes project-based science and math learning throughout Silicon Valley. Janice D. Chaffin Janice D. Chaffin was appointed to our Board of Directors in December 2014. She held several senior executive positions with Symantec Corporation, most recently as Group President, Consumer Business Unit, from April 2007 to March 2013, and previously as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer from 2006 to 2007 and Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer from 2003 to 2006. Before joining Symantec, Ms. Chaffin spent more than twenty years with Hewlett-Packard Company in a variety of management and marketing leadership positions. Ms. Chaffin has served on the board of directors of PTC Inc. since August 2013 and on the operating committee of the privately held Ancestry.com LLC since June 2013. Ms. Chaffin also served as a director of International Game Technology from 2010 to 2015 and of Informatica Corporation from 2001 to 2008. Dr. Chi-Foon Chan As Synopsys' co-CEO, Dr. Chi-Foon Chan shares responsibility for crafting vision and strategy, leading the company, and ensuring execution excellence in support of our customers' success. As the company's President and COO, a role Dr. Chan held for 14 years prior to his 2012 appointment to President and co-CEO, he guided internal operations and worldwide field organizations. Dr. Chan joined Synopsys in 1990 as Vice President of Applications and Services where he helped build the Technical Field organization. He has sponsored several key initiatives such as entering the IP market, and he personally facilitated key acquisitions such as Avanti, Virage Logic, Magma Design Automation, and SpringSoft. In 2014 he led Synopsys' entry into the software testing market with the acquisition of Coverity, and into the software security market with the acquisition of Codenomicon. Prior to Synopsys, Dr. Chan contributed to industry-leading companies like NEC Corporation, where he was General Manager of the microprocessor group, responsible for marketing all NEC chip devices in North America. Prior to NEC, Dr. Chan was an engineering manager at Intel Corporation. Dr. Chan holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University; and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University. Bruce R. Chizen Bruce R. Chizen has been a member of our Board of Directors since April 2001. He is currently an independent consultant and has served as Senior Adviser to Permira Advisers LLP since July 2008 and Venture Partner with Voyager Capital since July 2009. From November 2007 to November 2008, Mr. Chizen served as a strategic adviser to Adobe Systems Incorporated, a provider of design, publishing and imaging software for print, Internet and dynamic media production. From December 2000 to November 2007, he served as Adobe's Chief Executive Officer and served as its President from April 2000 to January 2005. He previously held various other positions at Adobe dating to 1994. Mr. Chizen has served on the board of directors of Oracle Corporation since July 2008, the operating committee of the privately held Ancestry.com LLC since January 2013, and served on the board of directors of Adobe from December 2000 to April 2008. Mercedes Johnson Ms. Johnson has been a member of our Board of Directors since February 2017. Ms. Johnson previously served as Interim Chief Financial Officer of Intersil Corporation from April 2013 to September 2013, Chief Financial Officer of Avago Technologies, Inc. from 2005 to 2008, and Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Lam Research Corporation from 1997 to 2004. For the past 12 years, Ms. Johnson has served as a board member for a number of public companies including Storage Technology Corporation, Intersil Corporation, Micron Technology, Inc., Juniper Networks, Inc. and Teradyne, Inc. Dr. Chrysostomos L. "Max" Nikias Dr. Chrysostomos L. "Max" Nikias has been a member of our Board of Directors since July 2011. Since August 2010, Dr. Nikias has served as President of the University of Southern California (USC). Dr. Nikias previously served as USC's provost and chief academic officer from 2005 through 2010 and as dean of USC's Viterbi School of Engineering from 2001 through 2005. From 1996 through 2001, he was the founding director of the National Science Foundation-funded Integrated Media Systems Center. Dr. Nikias has worked as a consultant for numerous corporations and the U.S. government, including the U.S. Department of Defense. Dr. Nikias is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and a charter fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. John G. Schwarz John G. Schwarz has been a member of our Board of Directors since May 2007. Since May 2010, Mr. Schwarz has served as co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Visier Inc., a business analytics software firm. Mr. Schwarz previously served on the executive board of SAP AG from March 2008 to February 2010. Mr. Schwarz was the Chief Executive Officer of Business Objects S.A., a provider of business intelligence software and services, from September 2005 through its acquisition by SAP in January 2008, and he served as the Chief Executive Officer of SAP's Business Objects unit through February 2010. Mr. Schwarz served on Business Objects’ board of directors from January 2006 until its acquisition. Mr. Schwarz has also served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Symantec Corporation and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Reciprocal Inc. Mr. Schwarz previously spent 25 years at IBM Corporation, where he was most recently General Manager of IBM's Industry Solutions Unit. Mr. Schwarz has served as a director at Teradata Corporation since September 2010 and at SuccessFactors, Inc. from September 2010 to June 2011. Roy Vallee Roy Vallee has been a member of our Board of Directors since February 2003. From July 2011 to November 2012, Mr. Vallee served as Executive Chairman of the board of directors of Avnet, Inc., a global semiconductor/electronics products and IT distributor. From June 1998 to July 2011, Mr. Vallee served as Avnet's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board of directors. Mr. Vallee also previously served as Avnet's Vice Chairman, President, and Chief Operating Officer. Since February 2000, Mr. Vallee has served on the board of directors of Teradyne, Inc., and he has been its Chairman of the board of directors since May 2014. Beginning in January 2013, Mr. Vallee also served on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, serving as Chairman from January 2015 to December 2016. Steven C. Walske Steven C. Walske has been a member of our Board of Directors since December 1991. Mr. Walske has been Managing Director of Myriad Investments, LLC, a private equity firm specializing in investments in software companies, since June 2000. Mr. Walske served as Chief Business Strategist of Parametric Technology Corporation from June 2000 until June 2005. From 1986 through June 2000, Mr. Walske held several executive-level positions at Parametric Technology Corporation, including Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the board of directors. Mr. Walske served on the board of directors of BladeLogic, Inc. from November 2002 to April 2008, holding the Chairman position from September 2005 to April 2008. NEWSROOM Read Synopsys news, contact the PR team, or gather other information INVESTOR RELATIONS Browse information for shareholders, analysts & investors SYNOPSYS CAREERS Learn about jobs, internships and our commitment to diversity EVENT Find out about Synopsys seminars, SNUGs and conferences COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Learn how Synopsys inspires the next generation of technologists RESOURCES Additional Resources Related items About Us Investors Relations Newsroom Our Commitments Code of Ethics Governance Guidelines Board of Directors Board Committees Global Citizenship PRODUCTS Software Integrity Semiconductor IP Verification Design Silicon Engineering RESOURCES Solutions Services Support Community Manage Subscriptions CORPORATE About Us Careers Global Citizenship Investor Relations Contact Us LEGAL Privacy Trademarks & Brands Software Integrity FOLLOW ©2018 Synopsys, Inc. All Rights Reserved