Join us for the first in-person Women in TechWorks event at Arm, bringing together women and allies from across the semiconductor and technology ecosystem.
CLICK HERE to find out more about Women in TechWorks
CLICK HERE to find out how you can sponsor this event
As a growing network, Women in TechWorks is dedicated to fostering connection, mentorship, visibility, leadership, and inclusion. Helping to create stronger pathways for women to develop and thrive in deep tech.
While recognition is important, meaningful progress happens through everyday actions: creating space for diverse voices, challenging assumptions, empowering talent to succeed, and actively supporting one another as allies.
Founded by Jillian Hughes together with the Women in TechWorks board, the initiative was created to strengthen the sector’s talent pipeline through mentoring, training, and increased visibility for women across the industry.
Our goal is to help women make a bigger, more significant contribution to the sector’s prospects by attracting, supporting, and advancing them at each stage of their career path.
This event will also explore key topics shaping the industry today, including artificial intelligence and the future of engineering.
Event Sessions
Mentoring , Leadership and Retention – Are we moving the needle?
We are exploring a session focused on mentoring, leadership, and the retention of women in technology, looking at what organisations are doing in practice to support progression and long-term careers for women in the sector. The discussion will consider how companies are building effective mentorship and sponsorship programmes, developing leadership pipelines, and creating inclusive cultures that enable women to thrive and progress. We are particularly interested in hearing how organisations are using data, technology and emerging tools such as AI to identify gaps, address barriers, and create scalable pathways for advancement. Speakers would be invited to share practical insights, lessons learned, and reflections on whether current initiatives are truly shifting the needle in improving representation and retention of women in tech.
Trends in the Workplace – Solving Complex Problems Using AI
Industry experts will share how engineers are using AI to analyse complex data, accelerate innovation and unlock new approaches to technical challenges. The session will also highlight the contributions of women engineers in shaping these, exploring how diverse perspectives can influence problem-solving, innovation and the way complex technical challenges are approached.
From Strategy to Systems: Executive Leadership in AI Era
This session will explore how organisations are moving beyond AI strategy to real-world implementation across technology, teams and operations. We are particularly interested in hearing whether companies have successfully transitioned from planning to practical adoption, what that journey has looked like, and the challenges encountered along the way. The discussion will also consider the role of women leaders in shaping how AI is adopted and governed, ensuring diverse leadership voices are represented in decisions that will define the future of AI-enabled organisations.
Why attend
- Connect with women and allies from across the semiconductor and deep tech ecosystem.
- Hear practical perspectives on leadership, mentoring and career development.
- Explore how current trends such as AI are affecting engineering and progression.
- Be part of shaping a growing community focused on visibility, inclusion, and opportunity for women in tech.
What you will take away
- New connections across the ecosystem
- Fresh perspectives on leadership and career development
- Insight into how AI is influencing engineering and workplace practices.
- A clearer sense of how Women in Techworks can support progression and visibility in the sector.
Join Us
Join us at Arm, Cambridge for a day of knowledge sharing , discussion and networking with leaders across the deep tech community.
Register now to secure your place and be part of the discussion shaping the future of engineering and leadership in the AI era.
Agenda
| Time |
Details |
| 09:00 |
Registration |
| 09:30 |
Opening remarks Jillian Hughes, Founder, Women in TechWorks |
| 09:40 |
DSIT – Task Force |
| 10:00 |
Keynote Charlotte Eaton, Chief People Officer, Arm |
| 10:20 |
Mahdieh Ghoddusi, Director of Delivery, UKESF |
| 10:30 |
Networking Break Sponsored by Arm |
| 11:00 |
Mentoring , Leadership and Retention – Are we moving the needle? – Hosted by Dr Becky Ellis, Senior Manager Research Enablement, Arm |
|
From Community to Competitive Advantage: The Power of Women’s ERGs in Tech Rachel Rees, UK Committee Chair, Women@arm ERG |
|
Empowering High performance teams Lee Harrison, Marketing Director, Siemens EDA |
|
Svetlana Grant, Strategic Partnership Lead for Robotics, Google DeepMind |
|
Janet Collyer MBE, Portfolio Board Director and government advisor |
|
From Competent to Confident: What Actually Moves the Needle in Mentoring Women in Tech Dr Jan Peters MBE, Director, Katalytik |
|
Interactive Audience Discussion |
| 12:55 |
Networking Lunch |
| 13:55 |
AI Trends in the workplace – Solving complex problems using AI – Hosted by Ras Attale, Co-chair, Women in TechWorks |
|
From Personal Knowledge Management to Augmented Cognition: Engineering the ‘Second Brain’ for AI-Enabled Technical Leadership Krishnapriya C.R., Senior Director of Engineering, Arm |
|
Engineering AI Ethics-by-Design in Automotive: Standards & Regulations Dr Paula Palade, AI Ethics Technical Specialist, Jaguar Land Rover |
|
Engineering Innovation in RF Design: From Simulation Automation to AI-Driven Optimization Fatemeh Hoveizavi, Business Development Manager, EDRMEDESO |
|
Physical AI: Unlocking intelligence to realise the Internet of Everything Catherine Ramsdale, Senior Vice President Technology, Pragmatic Semiconductor |
|
What the heck shall we do with the tech?! Julia Shalet, Managing Director, Product Doctor |
|
Interactive Audience Discussion |
| 15:50 |
Networking break |
| 16:20 |
From Strategy to Systems: Executive Leadership in an AI Era |
|
Panel moderated by Helen Ledger, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Pragmatic Semiconductor Panellists: Caroline O’Brien, CEO, CSA Catapult Farah Comis, CEO, Altro Photonics Karima Dridi, Head of Productivity Engineering, CE-PE, Arm Jen Walls, CEO, Clas-SiC |
| 17:00 |
Closing Remarks, Finish and networking |
| 19:00 |
Drinks at Wilde Aparthotels, Cambridge City Centre |
|
|
09:00
Registration
09:30
Opening remarks
Jillian Hughes, Founder, Women in TechWorks
09:40
DSIT – Task Force
10:00
Keynote
Charlotte Eaton, Chief People Officer, Arm
10:20
Mahdieh Ghoddusi, Director of Delivery, UKESF
10:30
Networking Break Sponsored by Arm
11:00
Mentoring, Leadership and Retention – Are we moving the needle? – Hosted by Dr Becky Ellis, Senior Manager Research Enablement, Arm
From Community to Competitive Advantage: The Power of Women’s ERGs in Tech
Rachel Rees, UK Committee Chair, Women@arm ERG
Empowering High performance teams
Lee Harrison, Marketing Director, Siemens EDA
Svetlana Grant, Strategic Partnership Lead for Robotics, Google DeepMind
Janet Collyer MBE, Portfolio Board Director and government advisor
From Competent to Confident: What Actually Moves the Needle in Mentoring Women in Tech
Dr Jan Peters MBE, Director, Katalytik
Interactive Audience Discussion
12:55
Networking Lunch
13:55
AI Trends in the workplace – Solving complex problems using AI – Hosted by Ras Attale, Co-chair, Women in TechWorks
From personal Knowledge Management to Augmented Cognition: Engineering the ‘Second Brain’ for AI Enabled Technical Leadership
Krishnapriya C.R., Senior Director of Engineering, Arm
Engineering AI Ethics-by-Design in Automotive: Standards & Regulations
Dr Paula Palade, AI Ethics Technical Specialist, Jaguar Land Rover
Engineering Innovation in RF Design: From Simulation Automation to AI-Driven Optimization
Fatemeh Hoveizavi, Business Development Manager, EDRMEDESO
Physical AI: Unlocking intelligence to realise the Internet of Everything
Catherine Ramsdale, Senior Vice President Technology, Pragmatic Semiconductor
What the heck shall we do with the tech?!
Julia Shalet, Managing Director, Product Doctor
Interactive Audience Discussion
15:50
Networking break
16:20
From Strategy to Systems: Executive Leadership in an AI Era
Panel moderated by Helen Ledger, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Pragmatic Semiconductor
Panellists:
Caroline O’Brien, CEO, CSA Catapult
Farah Comis, CEO, Altro Photonics
Karima Dridi, Head of Productivity Engineering, CE-PE, Arm
Jen Walls, CEO, Clas-SiC
Jon Michaels, Director, microTECH
17:00
Closing Remarks, Finish and networking
19:00
Drinks at Wilde Aparthotels, Cambridge City Centre
Speakers
Dr. Paula Palade
AI Ethics Technical Specialist, Jaguar Land Rover
Dr Paula Palade is an internationally recognised expert in AI ethics, driving safety and ethical standards for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) at Jaguar Land Rover, as well as at European and global levels. With over a decade of experience in automotive engineering, AI ethics, and standardisation, she has made substantial contributions to the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and the European Commission. Her mission is to ensure that AI is applied in a way that is ethical, sustainable, and beneficial to society.
As the AI Ethics Technical Specialist at Jaguar Land Rover, Dr Palade leads the development and implementation of ethical principles and best practices for CAVs. Her academic background in electrical engineering includes a PhD, multiple patents, and publications in leading journals. She is deeply committed to using AI responsibly to improve lives across the automotive sector. Dr Palade’s work has earned her numerous accolades, including Automotive Rising Star of the Year 2024 (US Detroit AutoTech), Top 50 Women in Engineering UK 2024, and inclusion in the UK TechWomen100 and Autocar Top 100 Women in Automotive. She is also a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in engineering, serving as a STEM Ambassador, Women in Engineering Mentor, and Chartered Engineer mentor for the IET. She contributed to the European Commission’s report on the Ethics of CAVs, providing 20 key recommendations shaping policy and legislation. Beyond her technical roles, she regularly speaks at public events, runs webinars on CAV safety, and facilitates strategy for INCOSE and the IET.
Dr Jan Peters MBE
Jan Peters is a globally recognised inclusion expert with over 25 years of experience combining a strong technical background in engineering with a focus on building diverse, people-centred organisations. As director of Katalytik, she has led influential research and developed practical tools to improve inclusion in engineering and construction, while also contributing to higher education through programmes like UCL’s Integrated Engineering Programme and mentoring initiatives supporting over 1,500 women. Her career spans industry, academia, and public policy, and includes leadership roles such as President of the Women’s Engineering Society and recognition with an MBE in 2017. Her work is driven by a commitment to systemic, evidence-based approaches to inclusion that deliver measurable impact.
Presentation: From competent to confident: what actually moves the needle in mentoring women in tech
This talk explores why, despite the growth of mentoring programmes for women in tech, retention and progression remain stalled. Drawing on 25 years of experience and a decade of the WIBEC programme, it argues that effective mentoring depends on structured design—careful matching, trained mentors, clear timeframes, and shared frameworks like CliftonStrengths—but also highlights a deeper issue: a persistent confidence gap rather than a skills gap. It shows how systemic challenges such as unstable funding, duplicated initiatives, and lack of long-term investment undermine even well-designed schemes. While new tools, including AI, offer opportunities to scale impact, the key message is that mentoring must be treated as a strategic, evidence-based practice—not a “nice-to-have”—with proper resources, coordination, and commitment to truly support women’s progression in engineering and technology.
Jillian Hughes
Head of Semiconductors & DESN Network Director
Jillian Hughes began her career with a recognised apprenticeship at National Semiconductor in Greenock, Scotland, completing her training in 1991. Over the next 15 years, she built deep technical expertise in semiconductor equipment and process engineering, working with major multinational companies including Seagate Microelectronics, Motorola, and Freescale Semiconductor.
She went on to lead operations across several specialised semiconductor businesses, focusing on the manufacture, refurbishment, sale, and service of high value capital equipment.
In April 2020, Jillian was appointed NMI Director at Techworks, the UK’s semiconductor trade association. In this role, she drew on her extensive industry knowledge to support UK semiconductor companies and worked closely with industry and academia to raise the sector’s profile within Government.
Jillian later served as Chief Operating and Financial Officer at Dalrada Technology and Deposition Technology, where she oversaw the development and manufacture of advanced capital equipment for emerging semiconductor markets. She has since returned to Techworks as Head of Semiconductors, leading the Semiconductor Systems Design Network (DESN) and bringing together the UK’s dynamic chip design community to drive collaboration, innovation, and knowledge sharing.
Jillian also serves on the Board of Directors at Wafer Fab Solutions, where she provides strategic business and financial guidance.
Lee Harrison
Director of Product Marketing, Tessent, Siemens EDA
Lee Harrison is Director, Product Marketing, with Siemens Tessent Division. He has over 25 years of industry experience working with Siemens Tessent DFT products, with a focus on safety and security. Lee Received his BEng in MicroElectronic Engineering from Brunel University London in 1996. Lee presents regularly at industry conferences such as DAC, ITC, VTS, ETS, and DATE.
Fatemeh Hoveizavi
Business development manager, EDRMEDESO
Engineering Innovation in RF Design: From Simulation Automation to AI-Driven Optimization
This talk presents a practical approach to accelerating engineering innovation in RF and antenna design through automation and emerging AI-driven methodologies. Using phased array antenna design as a case study, I will demonstrate how Python-based workflows with PyAEDT can significantly streamline simulation processes, reduce design cycles, and improve reproducibility.
The session will highlight real-world engineering challenges in high-frequency system design and how automation enables more efficient exploration of complex design spaces. Building on this, I will discuss how such workflows create a foundation for integrating AI and optimization techniques, opening the door to smarter, data-driven engineering practices.
Beyond the technical aspects, the talk will also reflect on the evolving role of engineers—where multidisciplinary skills, adaptability, and inclusive collaboration are key to building high-performing teams and delivering impactful solutions.
This presentation is aimed at engineers and technical leaders interested in bridging practical engineering workflows with emerging technologies such as AI, while maintaining strong engineering fundamentals and best practices.
Biography
Fatemeh Hoveizavi is a Technical Business Development Leader with over 15 years’ experience in electronic design, simulation, and advanced engineering systems. Holding a PhD in Telecommunications Engineering, she specialises in electromagnetics, RF/microwave engineering, and semiconductor technologies. Working in the EDA sector, she supports organisations across the full product lifecycle, from concept to system-level verification, solving complex challenges in areas such as PCB design, IC/ASIC development, and simulation. She bridges technical and business domains to drive technology adoption and growth. She also contributes to academia and actively promotes diversity, supporting women pursuing careers in engineering and high-impact technology fields.
Charlotte Eaton
Chief People Officer, Arm
In her role as Chief People Officer, Charlotte oversees all aspects of Arm’s people, workplace, and sustainability strategies. Over the course of her career, Charlotte has shaped her experience across multiple sectors with rapid adaptation and change, and is passionate about building progressive, inclusive, purpose-led organizations. She thrives in seeking new ways of doing great things and inspiring others to think differently about the world of work while making it happen.
Before joining Arm, Charlotte was Chief People Officer at OVO, one of the UK’s largest energy companies, focused on sustainability and renewable energy. In her role, she was responsible for people, property, and customer experience. Prior to OVO, Charlotte spent six years at Arm, latterly as VP of People, supporting teams in the Intellectual Property Group (IPG) globally. Before Arm, Charlotte held HR leadership roles at The Heinz Company and worked at Barclays. Charlotte holds an LL.B. with first class honors.
Julia Shalet
Managing Director, Product Doctor
What the heck shall we do with the tech?!
Julia “grew up” in a tech-driven industry. Her first job was as part of the launch team for the first mass market consumer mobile offering in the UK. Fast forward to now; countless new technologies later – for better and for worse – and the lessons remain the same.
How can we, as individuals, help our colleagues, teams and organisations to cut through the hype and engineer intelligently.
In this talk, Julia will give some practical models and examples to help us
- Stay ahead & innovate whilst managing existing portfolios
- Focus on solving user problems and
- Enable a culture of learning as we need to discover what works and what doesn’t
We will have an opportunity to share stories from the coal-face, consider what we have learned & take a moment to reflect on how we can be resilient, responsive & adaptable.
Biography
Julia has built a career focused on maximising the real-world impact and commercial success of new technologies. From leading product strategy in the shift from 2G to 4G, to scaling a Web 2.0 venture, she has consistently worked at the forefront of innovation. Over the past decade, she has helped established organisations transform through customer-centric, product-led models. She also teaches innovation management at University College London and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Her award-winning book The Really Good Idea Test has global reach, and she has received multiple recognitions for her impact in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Mahdieh Ghoddusi
Director of Delivery, UKESF
Mahdieh Ghoddusi is Director of Delivery at the UK Electronics Skills Foundation, where she leads the design and delivery of national initiatives that build the UK’s future electronics and semiconductor workforce. Working at the intersection of industry, academia, and government, she develops high-impact approaches that strengthen early-career talent pipelines and address critical skills gaps across the sector.
She brings over 17 years of experience within a global technology organisation, where she led programmes spanning early-career development and technical capability building for engineering teams. Her work included designing and delivering graduate and intern programmes, as well as developing engineers across the business in emerging technologies and key industry domains, including semiconductors. She also worked closely with universities through product-led engagement, driving adoption of engineering tools and platforms.
At UKESF, Mahdieh oversees a portfolio of activity spanning student development and outreach, including initiatives such as Girls into Electronics, which aim to broaden participation and inspire more young women to pursue pathways into engineering and technology.
She holds a BEng in Electronics Engineering from the University of Reading
Krishnapriya C.R
Senior Director of Engineering, Arm
Krishnapriya C.R is a Senior Director of Engineering at Arm Ltd, UK, where she leads the development of several strategic hardware products, including cutting-edge AI systems. She has a strong track record of building and scaling high-performing teams to deliver innovative, ground-up designs on time. Her organisation of over several hundred engineers spans Manchester, Sheffield, Cambridge, Bristol, Budapest (Hungary), and Bangalore (India).
Prior to joining Arm, Krishnapriya was Head of Product Definition at Infineon, where she led the UK-based system architecture team for automotive microcontrollers. She brings deep hands-on experience across design, verification, and architecture development of IPs and SoCs, combining technical expertise with a passion for building strong teams, creating competitive products, and helping engineers reach their full potential.
She is an advisory board member of Microelectronics UK, and a strong advocate for applying AI across all aspects of R&D to improve efficiency and innovation, and regularly shares her experience building AI-enabled software through webinars and in-person events. She is also an experienced mentor, supporting engineers—particularly women—both within Arm and beyond.
Rachel Rees
UK Committee Chair, Women@arm ERG
From Community to Competitive Advantage: The Power of Women’s ERGs in Tech
Women’s ERGs are no longer just support networks—they’re strategic drivers of business performance in the tech industry.
This presentation will show how they strengthen talent pipelines, improve retention, and accelerate leadership development through mentoring, sponsorship, and increased visibility of emerging talent. It will also highlight how ERGs provide critical insights into employee experience, helping organisations remove barriers and build more inclusive cultures.
As technologies like AI reshape the industry, we’ll explore how ERGs contribute to better decision-making and innovation by ensuring diverse perspectives are represented.
Ultimately, this session makes the case for why Women’s ERGs are essential to building resilient, competitive, future-ready organisations.
Biography
Rachel Rees is a Senior Licensing Manager at Arm, working in the Partner Success and Licensing team and at the centre of the global semiconductor ecosystem, where she helps to drive strategic partnerships enabling next-generation technologies.
Alongside her commercial role, she also chairs the Arm UK Women’s Employee Resource Group committee, championing initiatives that advance inclusion, strengthen talent pipelines and accelerate the progression of women in tech.
With over 20 years at Arm, Rachel is a passionate advocate for mentoring and sponsorship, and for translating inclusion into measurable impact. She brings a clear perspective on how diverse teams drive stronger innovation and better business outcomes and how building inclusive, high-performing cultures can enable both individuals and organisations to thrive in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.
Catherine Ramsdale
SVP Technology, Pragmatic Semiconductor
Physical AI: Unlocking intelligence to realise the Internet of Everything
AI is only as powerful as the data it can access, and today, most of the physical world remains invisible.
As digital transformation accelerates, the shift from the Internet of Things to the Internet of Everything is unlocking a new era of intelligence across consumer, industrial, healthcare and beyond. At the heart of this evolution are semiconductors, enabling connectivity and compute across cloud, edge and far edge – turning everyday objects into intelligent, decision-making systems.
However, the semiconductor industry faces a range of unprecedented global challenges, from supply chain constraints, geopolitical uncertainties to sustainability challenges. These have all compounded to disrupt multiple industries, delayed manufacturing and impacted economic growth. It’s also an imperative that we build for a solid future, diverse talent pipeline, where everyone can thrive in their careers.
It’s going to take a different approach to tackle these challenges, diverging from established paradigms. That’s the approach that Pragmatic has taken.
In this session, as part of the initial founding team at Pragmatic, I’ll share how we are rethinking semiconductors, and enabling physical AI through ultra-thin, flexible, and sustainable technology that enables intelligence where it previously wasn’t feasible, or even possible. I’ll share some examples of how the technology is empowering physical AI and the tremendous opportunities this opens with possible future innovations.
Alongside this, I’ll reflect on my personal journey from “lab to fab,” sharing practical insights on leadership, resilience, and how we build the diverse, future-ready talent pipeline needed to sustain innovation.
The opportunity is clear: when we connect the physical and digital worlds at scale, we don’t just optimise systems, we redefine what’s possible.
Biography
Catherine is a pioneer of ultra-thin semiconductor circuitry on flexible substrates. Consistently at the cutting edge of technology, she has over 20 years’ industrial experience in the flexible electronics field.
Catherine is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, holds a PhD in organic electronics from the University of Cambridge, and is co-creator of 18 inventions, leading to 64 granted patents.
Svetlana Grant
Strategic Partnership Lead for Robotics, Google DeepMind
Prior to her career in AI and robotics, Svetlana worked on mobile innovation and Internet of Things. She ran an innovation team at Vodafone Business IoT Technology division, and prior to that, managed an IoT program at the GSMA and worked as a telecom industry analyst. After years of working in the telco industry, she decided that AI was too fascinating to miss, graduated with MSc in Integrated ML Systems from UCL and joined DeepMind in 2022. She is a reading addict, a table tennis club organiser, and a keen gardener.
Janet Collyer MBE
Portfolio Board Director and government advisor
Janet is Chair of the Board at Quantum Dice, Independent NED and Advisor at Mach42, Independent NED at the Aerospace Technology Institute and also a member of the UK Government’s Semiconductor Advisory Panel and member of National Physics Laboratory’s Major Programme Portfolio Advisory Council.Prior to her portfolio career she held senior positions within the semiconductor industry most recently as Strategic Group Director at Cadence Designs System leading international teams, driving bespoke approaches and effective ecosystem partnerships that delivered business revenue growth across the semiconductor supply chain.
After her engineering degree at Girton College Cambridge University she worked in the USA and UK in semiconductor design through to manufactured product shipping in volume. She and her team taped out over 300 devices.
She then moved into roles in electronic design automation at Cadence which spanned technical application engineering, product management, project management, global services, IP and software sales director. Her final role was as International Group Director Strategic Accounts.
In the 2025 New Year’s honours list she was awarded an MBE for services to quantum hardware and cyber security.
Later in 2025 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from Electronics Weekly Women Leaders in Electronics and was named in the top 5 of Computer Weekly’s most influential woman in UK technology.
She mentors STEM professionals from under represented groups as they progress through the ranks all the way to C-suite.
Session Hosts
Ras Attale
Senior Hardware Engineer, Siemens
A Senior Hardware Engineer at Siemens, with nearly seven years of experience on the team. Previously worked at Arm, contributing to their verification team in Cortex A. Also currently pursuing a Master’s in Cybersecurity at the University of Oxford.
Dr Becky Ellis
Senior Manager Research Enablement, Arm
Dr Becky Ellis is a research enablement and programme leader with more than 20 years’ experience driving community growth, stakeholder engagement and talent development across education and technology. At Arm, she leads the global Arm Academic Access initiative that democratises access to semiconductor and SoC design technologies, enabling universities worldwide to advance research, education and innovation.
Panellists
Helen Ledger
Senior Vice President of Marketing, Pragmatic Semiconductor
Panel Moderator
Helen Ledger is a global B2B marketing leader with over 20 years’ experience driving growth, brand leadership and market creation spanning AI, IoT and semiconductor technologies.
Currently, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Pragmatic Semiconductor, she leads the global corporate marketing function, shaping the company’s brand, communication and public affairs activities, while building high-performing teams and scalable demand engines.
Previously, Helen held senior marketing leadership roles at Qualcomm, where she led marketing for IoT and Automotive, and contributed to multi-billion-dollar growth initiatives through integrated marketing, brand strategy and ecosystem partnerships. Prior roles span marketing leadership positions based in London at D-Link, a Taiwanese networking manufacturer and British Telecom, and Sophia-Antipolis, France with France Telecom.
Helen is passionate about inclusive leadership, developing talent, and aligning marketing as a true growth engine for business transformation
Caroline O’Brien
A semiconductor industry specialist, Caroline O’Brien brings over 30 years of experience in the technology sector, where she has developed a broad knowledge of working with VC-backed businesses and blue-chip multinationals.
She has held senior commercial and executive positions in several companies, focusing on developing and commercialising new technologies and products.
Caroline holds a B.Eng in Electronics and Electrical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Bath.
Farah Comis
Farah Comis is the CEO of Altro Photonics. She completed her PhD in the Optical Networks Group at University College London (UCL), supervised by Dr. Alfonso Ruocco. She holds an MEng in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from UCL and an MRes in Connected Electronic and Photonic Systems from the University of Cambridge.
Her PhD thesis, Integrated Photonic Platforms for Next-Generation Optical Transmitters, focused on integrated photonics using high-index-contrast platforms including silicon nitride on insulator (SiNOI) and lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI). She developed state-of-the-art silicon and lithium-niobate modulators and quantum devices, resulting in first-author publications in Optics Express and Optics Letters, a patent filing, and presentations at IEEE Silicon Photonics and CLEO, as well as an invited talk at the CORNERSTONE User Day.
Alongside her research, Farah is spinning out technology from UCL into a spin-out. She is part of the Future Worlds accelerator and previously participated in the 50:50 program backed by 50 Years VC, supporting the commercialisation of an integrated photonics platform.
Jen Walls
Jen brings over 30 years Semiconductor Industry experience within operational and managerial positions in Equipment, Process Engineering, Process Development and Business Management. Jen has successfully led many SiC projects and was key in the early Silicon Carbide industry engagements in the UK. She is an Engineering and MBA graduate and is a certified 6-sigma green belt practitioner. Jen joined Clas-SiC as Chief Operations Officer, stepping up to the CEO role from January 2024. Since moving into the role, Clas-SiC has secured equity investment to secure the next part of their technology roadmap as the company continues to grow.
Karima Dridi
Head of Productivity Engineering (CE-PE), Arm
Karima Dridi is Head of Productivity Engineering at Arm, where she is driving the transformation of engineering enablement through infrastructure, tooling, and AIpowered workflows.
Before leading PE, Karima headed up Delivery and Engineering Enablement within Central Engineering Operations, focusing on technical resources, compliance, and lifecycle management. With over 20 years in the semiconductor industry — including roles at Infineon, Texas Instruments, and Arm.
Karima has built and led global teams across SoC design, CPU delivery, and strategic engineering initiatives. Karima is passionate about empowering engineers through scalable systems, smart automation, and a bold, 10X mindset.
Jon Michaels
Jon Michaels is the Director and Co-founder of microTECH Global Ltd, a talent solutions firm specialising in the Deep Tech sector with Divisions spanning Semiconductors, Technology including AI, Software & Hardware Electronics and Executive search. Jon co-founded microTECH Global in 2013 with the vision of delivering expert talent acquisition services to some of the most innovative and influential companies in the market. He graduated with an Electronics & Communications degree from Leeds Met and has over 20 years of recruitment experience within the Deep Tech industry. He remains hands-on to this day, delivering exceptional talent to pre-seed, seed-stage, and established businesses, with a deep understanding of each stage of growth and the scaling journey of a tech firm.
Under his leadership, microTECH has grown into a multi-division, multi-site organisation, partnering with businesses of all sizes, from early-stage start-ups to established global leaders. The company is recognised not only for sourcing high-impact talent, on a permanent and consultancy basis, but also for providing strategic hiring advice and supporting the development of long-term talent roadmaps.
From building teams and launching new divisions to enabling complex talent transfers across Europe and beyond, microTECH continues to be a trusted partner in driving growth and innovation across the tech landscape.
