Board of Directors
Tim Phillips
Chief Executive Officer & President, Founder
Tim Phillips has an impressive track record of delivering profitable results while building innovative power management businesses over his 30-year career in the semiconductor industry. In prior roles with the company, Tim has served as Chief Operating Officer and as SVP Sales & Marketing since founding Empower in 2014. Earlier in his career, Tim served as VP of North America for Infineon, where he was responsible for more than $600M in annual sales and founded the Enterprise Power BU at International Rectifier where he served as VP & General Manager, growing the business to more than $150M in annual revenue. Tim earned both his MBA and BSEE from the University of Rhode Island. He holds 29 US patents with several others pending.
Jeff Holland
Chairman
Jeff Holland brings over 30 years of global financial services experience and is a retired partner at Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH), where he served as Global Head of the Financial Institutions Group and directed or chaired BBH’s non-U.S. subsidiaries in Europe and Asia. Prior to BBH, he worked at Accenture across Boston, New York, and Frankfurt, advising financial institutions. Since retiring, Jeff has focused on advising and investing in emerging companies and supporting philanthropic initiatives. He currently serves on the boards of Sanford C. Bernstein Funds, United Way of Mass Bay, and the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund, advises Novaya Real Estate Ventures and is President of the Governors Island Club. Jeff holds a B.S. in Management and Finance from Clarkson University and resides in Boston with his family.
John Bagatelos
John Bagatelos brings a wealth of experience in the semiconductor industry to the Empower Semiconductor Board of Directors. Currently serving as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Lumentum, he has held senior sales leadership roles at Monolithic Power Systems, ON Semiconductor, and AMD over the past two decades. Throughout his career, John has consistently driven substantial revenue growth through strategic global sales initiatives and deep customer engagement, particularly within the Cloud and Hyperscaler segments. His expertise in market expansion and sales strategy will be instrumental in supporting Empower Semiconductor’s continued innovation and growth.
Richard L. Clemmer
Richard Clemmer is a global leader in the semiconductor, electronics, and software industries, known for driving shareholder value. He is a Founding Partner of Socratic Partners, a semiconductor-focused venture fund, and formerly served as CEO and President of NXP Semiconductors N.V. and Agere Systems Inc, where he led transformative strategies that resulted in significant market capitalization growth in both companies. He currently serves on the boards of HP Inc. and Seagate Technology, with past board experience at Aptiv, NCR, NXP, and i2 Technologies. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Management from Texas Tech and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.
Andrew C. Homan
Andrew Homan is Managing Partner at Maverick Silicon, which he founded in 2024. In prior role, Mr. Homan led Maverick Capital’s investments across the semiconductor, hardware, and software industries. Mr. Homan also serves as the Chairman of Maverick’s Growth Committee, as well as on the external boards of Coherent Global, SiMa Technologies, and TensorWave. Prior to joining Maverick in 2004, Mr. Homan was an Analyst in the Investment Banking Division, Financial Institutions Group at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Mr. Homan received his B.A. in Economics from Yale University, where he was a member of the heavyweight crew team.
Kevin Leary
Kevin Leary has 18 years of investment and accounting experience. He is President of Hallador Investment Advisors, a family office, and an SEC-registered investment advisor to private investment funds. At Hallador, Kevin oversees overall operations and sits on its Investment Committee with prior roles at the firm as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and investment analyst. Earlier in his career, Kevin was an investment analyst with Spitfire Capital, a value-focused equities fund in San Francisco, California, and managed the Valuation Service Group at Grant Thornton, LLP, a global accounting and advisory firm. His present and past board and observer roles include Navitas Semiconductor (NASDAQ: NVTS), Talage Insurance, MCR Hotels, Orchid Asia, Calibrate Ventures, and Shea Ventures. Kevin holds a B.S. in Finance from Santa Clara University and is actively involved in advising and investing in emerging companies.
Gene Sheridan
Founder
Gene Sheridan brings over 30 years of experience in power management & semiconductors. Gene is the former CEO of Navitas Semiconductor, the industry’s first and only GaN Power IC company. In prior roles, Gene was CEO of the VC-backed IC start-up, BridgeCo, achieving extraordinary revenue & profit growth, and completing the company’s eventual sale to SMSC. Prior to BridgeCo, Gene was VP & GM at International Rectifier, where he managed a $600M/yr business unit serving the consumer, mobile and enterprise markets. At IRF, Gene held several positions that spanned engineering, manufacturing, sales & marketing and was responsible for the creation of a $70M/yr start-up. Gene holds a BSEE from Clarkson University.