KLA Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) is a provider of process control and yield management solutions and partners with customers around the world to develop state-of-the-art inspection and metrology technologies. Founded in the year 1976, the firm has a market cap of $11.28 billion.

Today, the semiconductor industry faces its most complex era to date. Concerns relating to Moore’s Law, EUV and the transition to 450mm manufacturing have posed recent challenges—moving scientific problems to engineering challenges. The need of the hour is to sort out as to how the industry can harness the innovation that drove this industry several decades ago, the ways business leaders can foster and drive such innovation among teams. More than ever, innovation must be driven by talent as well as the adoption of disruptive technologies.

Consumers are using more silicon than ever. In fact, in 2014, the semiconductor industry will produce more transistors in one year than grains of rice produced by mankind from 10,000 B.C. -2011. Since the first integrated circuit was created more than 50 years ago, the idea of transistors on silicon becoming the building blocks for processors has transformed nearly every facet of daily life. From smartphones and tablets, to televisions and refrigerators, the role ICs play is unavoidable. As CIO of KLA-Tencor Corporation, a leading supplier of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor industry, I am constantly focused on IC technology, as we are dependent on chips to power our daily devices.

In my position, the staggering pace of technology still inspires me and challenges me every day. As a company, KLA-Tencor is a key enabler for the digital age. The “magic behind the gadget,” our technology touches nearly every chip in mobile device market. As innovators fueling this market, we are also tasked every day to collaborate and innovate through technology— thus enabling our customers in their development of next generation devices.

Disruptive Technology