Jo De Boeck
EVP & CSO
imec

Biography
Jo De Boeck received his engineering degree in 1986 and his PhD degree in 1991 from the University of Leuven. Since 1991 he is a staff member of imec (Leuven). He has been a NATO Science Fellow at Bellcore (USA, 1991-92) and AST-fellow in the Joint Research Center for Atom Technology (Japan, 1998).In his research career, he has been leading activities on integration of novel materials at device level and new functionalities at systems level. In 2003 he became Vice President at imec for the Microsystems division and in 2005 started Holst Centre (Eindhoven) as General Manager of imec the Netherlands.From 2010 he headed imec’s Smart Systems and Energy Technology Business Unit. He is part-time professor at the Engineering department of the KU Leuven and held a visiting professorship at the TU Delft, Kavli Institute for Nanoscience (2003–2016). In 2011 he became Chief Technology Officer and in 2018 he was appointed Chief Strategy Officer. He is member of imec’s Executive Board.

Christophe Kutter
Director
Fraunhofer EMFT

Biography
Christoph Kutter is director of Fraunhofer EMFT, an institute of the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD), of which he is currently co-spokesperson. He also holds a professorship specializing in solid-state technologies at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich. His focus at Fraunhofer EMFT is on silicon technologies, MEMS, flexible electronics, biosystem integration and heterogeneous integration of various solid-state technologies. Christoph Kutter is currently Vice President of the VDE (Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies), a member of acatech (National Academy of Science and Engineering) and the BBAW (Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences BBAW). From 1995 to 2012, Christoph Kutter held various management positions at Infineon Technologies AG and Siemens AG, including Head of Communications Product Development, Head of Chip Card Development and Head of Central Research. Christoph Kutter was responsible for several central improvement projects to increase efficiency in research and development as well as for the management of the company-wide innovation initiative. From 1990 to 1995, Christoph Kutter worked as a research assistant at the High Magnetic Field Laboratory (Max Planck Institute for Solid State Physics) in Grenoble, France. Christoph Kutter received his Dipl. Phys. from the Technical University of Munich and his Dr. rer. nat. from the University of Constance in 1995.

Régis Hamelin
CTO
Bluemorpho

Biography
Régis Hamelin earned an engineering degree in materials science and a PhD in Electronics from the University of Lille, where he researched semiconductor lasers with the IEMN optronics team in 1993. He spent seven years at CEA-LETI as a process engineer and program manager in optronics, developing expertise in compound semiconductor photonic components and packaging. In 2003, he co-founded Intexys Photonics, serving as CTO and board member in launching active optical cables for high-end supercomputers. In 2010, he joined the “COWIN” support action under FP7, leading to the foundation of BLUMORPHO, which he joined as CTO in January 2015. He is currently coordinator of the aCCCess CSA working closely with the network of Chips Competence Centers.

Jari Kinaret
Executive Director
Chips JU

Biography
Jari Kinaret was born in Finland and holds M.Sc. degrees in Theoretical Physics and Electrical Engineering from the University of Oulu in 1986 and 1987, respectively, and a Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1992. Prof. Kinaret has worked in various roles at research institutes and universities in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Gothenburg, Sweden. From 2013 to 2023, he served as the Director of the Graphene Flagship, a one-billion-euro research project dedicated to exploring the potential of graphene. In October 2023, Prof. Jari Kinaret assumed the role of Executive Director at Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU), a European public-private partnership that supports research, development, innovation, and future manufacturing capacities in the European semiconductor ecosystem.

Jean-René Lèquepeys
Deputy Director & CTO
CEA-Leti

Biography
Jean-René Lèquepeys received his engineering degree in 1983 from Centrale Supelec and taught physics for 2 years in Ouarzazate, Morocco. He joined CEA in October 1985, in Saclay, within the Central Security Office, in the laboratory for the evaluation of means of detection and intrusion. In 1987, he became the head of the laboratory. In 1993, he was recruited by DSYS, at LETI in Grenoble, as an R&D engineer, in the field of image processing. He then lead projects in the field of "Telecom" at LETI before becoming the head of "Telecom, Communicating Objects and Smart Card" programs in 1999, within the team of Jean-Frédéric Clerc. In 2005, he took in charge the Circuits Design Department at LETI / DSYS, and then created, in partenership with the Ecole des Mines de Saint-Etienne, a laboratory dedicated to electronic components safety analysis located in Gardanne (Paca). In 2010, from the common initiative of both LETI and LIST Directors, he launched DACLE division, relying on original bi-site and bi-institute model, and focusing on Electronic Architectures, Integrated Circuit Design and Embedded Software. He participated in the creation of the Division DCOS (Division of Silicon Components) in 2011, and then lead the division until the end of 2017, when he got back to the head of DACLE division in 2018. In 2000, Jean-René Lèquepeys received the famous award from SEE "Grand Prix de l'électronique Général Ferrié" for his work in the telecommunications field. He is the author of about fifteen patents in this field.In 2019 he was appointed Deputy Director in charge of programs at LETI and Deputy Director of the Director of LETI.