Imec-NL’s Kathleen Philips to lead Tusk IC

Mm-wave chip design specialist Tusk IC has appointed Kathleen Philips as its new CEO. She succeeds Wouter Steyaert, who has led the Antwerp-based company since its spinoff from KU Leuven in 2018 (link in Dutch). Philips joins Tusk IC from Imec the Netherlands, where she was instrumental in expanding the research organization’s Dutch R&D office to a 250-person presence. As regional managing director and vice president of Imec’s worldwide IC Design division, she’s been operating at the forefront of the international semiconductor industry.

Philips holds an MSc and a PhD in electrical engineering from KU Leuven and Eindhoven University of Technology, respectively. From 1995-2007, she was a senior research scientist at Philips Research, designing mixed-signal and RF circuits for audio, data conversion and transceivers. In 2007, she joined Imec, where she’s held positions as principal scientist, program manager for ULP wireless and director IoT.

Tusk IC is a fabless semiconductor outfit delivering design services and innovative solutions for the mm-wave spectrum, enabling next-generation wireless communication applications, radar and sensors. Philips is returning to Flanders to expand the company’s focus, particularly by adding its own product roadmap. “Now is the time to accelerate growth by adding our own product chip,” she comments. “Building on the team’s excellence in high-frequency design, our product will target the fast-growing market of satellite communication.”