Mellanox Technologies, a supplier of high-performance, end-to-end smart interconnect solutions for data centre servers and storage systems, has announced the appointment of Steve Sanghi, Chief Executive Officer of Microchip Technology, and Umesh Padval, Partner at Thomvest Ventures, to the Company’s Board of Directors.
With these additions, the Mellanox Board now consists of eleven directors. Mr Sanghi and Mr Padval fill existing vacancies on the Board.
Mr Sanghi has established himself as a highly respected leader in the semiconductor industry with unmatched operational expertise and a proven ability to drive profitable growth. Under his leadership as CEO of Microchip since 1991, the company’s revenue has grown from $89 million as of its 1993 IPO to a $4.0 billion run rate with an industry leading 38 per cent operating margin.
In addition, Microchip has acquired and integrated 19 companies and executed a clear investment strategy focused on developing and sustaining profitable product lines while driving market share, leading to stock price appreciation of approximately 14,200%, excluding dividends.
Mr Padval brings to Mellanox over 30 years of technology, marketing, operations and strategic expertise. Throughout his career, Mr Padval has been a CEO, investor and entrepreneur, and has served on over 20 public and private boards. Since Mr Padval joined the Integrated Device Technology (IDT) Board in 2008, the company has seen significant operating margin expansion and stock price appreciation, which has resulted in over 5x market cap growth. Mr Padval’s deep operating experience, his profound understanding of the inner workings of the semiconductor industry and strategic expertise, together with his boardroom leadership, have created significant shareholder value for several companies and make him a tremendous addition to the Board of Mellanox.
‘The Mellanox Board of Directors has been actively seeking highly qualified, independent directors to fill the two remaining seats on our Board, and we are delighted to welcome Steve and Umesh,’ said Irwin Federman, chairman of the Board of Mellanox. ‘In addition to their outstanding experience and complementary skill sets, Steve and Umesh bring strong leadership and new perspectives that will be instrumental to continued growth and increased shareholder value for Mellanox investors.’
‘Steve is one of the best operators in the semiconductor industry, with an impressive track record of value creation as CEO of Microchip. We are proud to add him to our Board and are confident his steadfast focus on operational efficiency and disciplined approach to capital allocation will be invaluable to Mellanox as the Company continues to execute on our strategic plan. Additionally, Umesh brings extensive public company leadership experience and operational excellence to drive long-term growth and profitability. His balanced perspective is ideally suited for Mellanox which has maintained its high growth trajectory while achieving the scale to provide end-to-end differentiated solutions to its customers’ added Federman.
‘This is an exciting time to join the Mellanox Board,’ said Mr. Sanghi. ‘Mellanox’s focus on innovation and R&D, along with its forward looking strategy, has positioned the Company for sustained growth and profitability – and that is being proven out by the Company’s strong results and guidance. I have always been focused on the importance of driving profitable growth and will work closely with the Mellanox Board to ensure Mellanox continues on its upward trajectory and reaches its full potential.’
‘I am excited to be part of the Mellanox team, which is addressing a large market opportunity by developing innovative and market leading product platforms,’ said Mr Padval. ‘I am looking forward to using my past experience to contribute to the Company’s goals of continued revenue growth and maximizing shareholder value.’
Mr Federman continued, ‘Today’s appointments demonstrate our continued commitment to best-in-class corporate governance and to ensuring we have the right mix of diversity, independence, experience and skills to position Mellanox for future success. I look forward to working with Steve and Umesh, as well as the other outstanding members of our Board and management team to continue delivering industry-leading growth and maximizing shareholder value.’
