IBM’s Leon Stok Reelected as Si2 Board Chair for 2026–2027
Leon Stok, Vice President of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) at IBM, has been reelected as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Silicon Integration Initiative (Si2) for the 2026–2027 term.
Stok brings extensive experience in semiconductor design, electronic design automation and technology development to the leadership role. His reelection comes as the semiconductor industry continues to advance increasingly complex computing architectures, chip designs and manufacturing technologies that require collaboration across semiconductor companies, foundries and EDA providers.
Experienced Leadership in Electronic Design Automation
Stok has been a member of the Si2 Board since 2007 and has held several leadership positions within the organization, including previous terms as Board Chair. His continued involvement reflects his longstanding contribution to industry collaboration and the development of standards and technologies that support semiconductor design.
At IBM, Stok leads a team responsible for developing advanced design and verification flows and tools used to create some of the company’s most sophisticated computing systems. His work supports technologies across IBM’s computing portfolio, including IBM Z, IBM Power systems and IBM Quantum Systems.
EDA plays a critical role in modern semiconductor development. As chip architectures become more complex, designers rely on sophisticated software and automated methodologies to develop, verify and optimize electronic systems. Stok’s experience in this field positions him to help Si2 address some of the industry’s evolving technical challenges.
A Career Focused on EDA Innovation
Stok is a recognized contributor to the field of electronic design automation and has built an extensive record of research, technical publications and industry engagement.
He earned his Ph.D. from Eindhoven University in 1991 and has since contributed to research and development across several important areas of semiconductor design.
His research has resulted in more than 60 published papers covering subjects such as high-level architectural and logic synthesis, low-power design, placement-driven synthesis, and automated schematic placement and routing.
These IBM areas are particularly relevant as semiconductor companies seek to develop increasingly powerful and energy-efficient systems while managing the growing complexity of modern chip architectures.
In addition to his academic and research contributions, Stok holds 13 patents in electronic design automation. He has also shared his expertise through more than 40 keynote presentations, invited talks and tutorials at major IEEE and ACM conferences, as well as at universities around the world.
His combination of industry leadership, research experience and technical expertise provides a strong foundation for his continued role as chair of the Si2 Board.
New Si2 Board Leadership for 2026–2027
Alongside Stok’s reelection as chair, Si2 has announced its directors for the 2026–2027 term. The newly elected board brings together senior technology and engineering leaders from major semiconductor, EDA and technology companies.
The IBM board includes representatives from across the semiconductor ecosystem, including foundries, fabless semiconductor companies and EDA software providers.
The directors are:
- Leon Stok, Vice President, Electronic Design Automation, IBM
- Lu Dai, Vice President of Technical Standards, Qualcomm Technologies
- Jacob Avidan, Senior Vice President, Silicon Technology Group, Synopsys
- Niels Faché, Senior Vice President, Design Engineering Software, Keysight
- Jim Culp, Corporate Fellow, GlobalFoundries
- Wilbur Luo, Vice President, Product Engineering, Custom IC, Custom Products Group, Cadence Design Systems
- Manoj Selva, Vice President and General Manager, Product Enablement Solutions Group, Intel
- Jung Yun Choi, Executive Vice President, Samsung Electronics Memory Business, Design Technology Team, Samsung Electronics
- Bang-hyun Sung, Distinguished Engineer, SK hynix
- Mo Movahed, Vice President, Siemens EDA
- Gaurav Varshney, Global Director, Technologist and Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff, Texas Instruments
- Viraphol Chaiyakul, Senior Director of Engineering, NXP Semiconductors
- Aveek Sarkar, Head of the Ecosystem and Alliance Management Division, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
- Thomas Ahle, Head of Machine Learning, Normal Computing Corporation
The diverse composition of the board reflects the collaborative nature of the semiconductor industry, where successful chip development depends on coordination among multiple companies and technology disciplines.
Advancing Collaboration Across the Semiconductor Industry
Si2 is a global, not-for-profit membership organization focused on developing trusted standards and shared technology solutions for the semiconductor industry.
The IBM organization has approximately 70 corporate members that work together to address common challenges in semiconductor design and development. Its membership includes semiconductor foundries, fabless design companies and EDA software providers.
By bringing these groups together, Si2 aims to help the industry reduce development costs, improve design productivity and encourage greater interoperability across the semiconductor design ecosystem.
Shared standards are increasingly important as semiconductor development becomes more sophisticated. Design teams often depend on tools and technologies from multiple vendors, while semiconductor companies must ensure that their designs can move efficiently through different stages of development and manufacturing.
Industry-wide collaboration can help address these challenges by establishing common approaches and standards that benefit multiple participants across the semiconductor supply chain.
Supporting the Future of Chip Design
The semiconductor industry is experiencing rapid changes driven by artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, advanced manufacturing processes, quantum computing and other emerging technologies.
These developments are increasing demand for more advanced chip architectures and design methodologies. At the same time, semiconductor designers face growing challenges related to power consumption, performance, verification, scalability and design complexity.
EDA technologies and industry standards are therefore becoming increasingly important components of the semiconductor development process.
Through its board and member organizations, Si2 provides a forum for companies to collaborate on solutions to these challenges. Stok’s reelection as board chair gives the organization an experienced EDA leader to help guide these efforts during the 2026–2027 term.
The participation of senior executives and technical leaders from IBM, Qualcomm Technologies, Synopsys, Keysight, GlobalFoundries, Cadence Design Systems, Intel, Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Siemens EDA, Texas Instruments, NXP Semiconductors, TSMC and Normal Computing also brings broad industry expertise to the board.
About Silicon Integration Initiative
The Silicon Integration Initiative (Si2) is a global, not-for-profit membership organization whose members collaborate on trusted standards and shared solutions for the semiconductor industry.
Si2’s work is focused on reducing development costs and increasing design productivity for semiconductor foundries, fabless design companies and EDA software providers.
About the Si2 Board
The Si2 Board of Directors can include up to 16 member companies representing leading organizations across semiconductor foundries, fabless semiconductor companies and EDA software providers.
The board provides strategic leadership for the organization and helps guide collaborative initiatives designed to address shared challenges in semiconductor design and technology development.
With Leon Stok continuing as board chair and a diverse group of industry leaders serving as directors, Si2 enters the 2026–2027 term with a broad base of expertise spanning semiconductor design, EDA, manufacturing, standards, engineering and emerging computing technologies.
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