President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board
Mr. Hamid Shokrgozar has over twenty years of both technical management and general management accomplishments in the technology sector. Mr. Shokrgozar is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board of White Electronic Designs Corporation, a publicly traded Company on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange market (NASDAQ: WEDC). Prior to June 8, 2000, White Electronic Designs Corporation traded on the American Stock Exchange, (AMEX:WHT). Mr. Shokrgozar implemented the changeover to NASDAQ to benefit White Electronic Designs and allow the company to reach a wider range of investment and merchant banks in addition to money managers and individual investors. He also believes that the NASDAQ National Market System provides a broader platform for White Electronic Designs Corporation as the Company aligns itself with other high-technology companies, especially those in the Defense & Aerospace and data/ telecommunications markets. Mr. Shokrgozar also has served on the Board of Directors for the Corporation and, as of August 31, 2000, he was appointed Chairman of the Board. Prior to this, Mr. Shokrgozar was President and CEO of Bowmar Instrument Corporation, and served on the Board of Directors for Bowmar Instruments. Mr. Shokrgozar also served as President and CEO of White Microelectronics, a division of Bowmar Instrument Corporation from June 1993 until October 1998. From June 1989 to June 1993, Mr. Shokrgozar was Vice President of Engineering for the White Microelectronics division. He has a comprehensive background of increasing management responsibility, covering such diverse areas as engineering development, product application, and marketing and operations management. He holds a US patent for the invention of "Stacked Silicon Die Carrier Assembly". Mr. Shokrgozar also has a diverse background in Mergers and acquisitions and he has completed three acquisitions since he has joined the Company. In May 1998, Bowmar and one of its key competitors, Electronic Designs, Inc. in Westborough, Mass. entered into a definitive agreement to merge. The merger was finalized October 26, 1998. Mr. Shokrgozar was elected to serve as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the combined company. In January 2001 under Mr. Shokrgozar's leadership White Electronic Designs Corp. acquired Panelview, Inc. a supplier and manufacturer of enhanced AMLCD Display products and in January 2003 acquired Interface Data Systems (IDS) a Phoenix based leading supplier of electronic interface solutions.
In June 2003 Mr. Shokrgozar completed a successful $52M secondary offering for the Corporation. The offering was led by well known Wall Street investment banking firms including Needham & Co. as lead banker, and was co-managed by AG Edwards and Raymond James. The proceeds were used to buyback the Company shares held by New York Life investment group totaling $22M and to payoff $9M debt incurred as a result of the 2003 acquisition of IDS.
Mr. Shokrgozar has also served as Chairman of American Electronic Association (AEA), Arizona Council in fiscal 2000 and served on the AEA, Arizona council Board in 1998 and 1999.
Mr. Hamid Shokrgozar graduated from California State University Fullerton (CSUF) with a Bachelors of Science, BSEE Degree in Engineering. He has received advanced professional classes in Data Communications Systems and various management business educations through National Management Association (NMA).
Mr. Shokrgozar speaks and is fluent in both French and Farsi (Persian).
Edward A. White has served on our Board since we were founded as Bowmar in September 1951. He is currently the Vice Chairman of the Board and is a member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee. He previously served as Chairman of the Board from September 1983 to October 1998. He founded us in September 1951 and served as our President and Chief Executive Officer from June 1980 to May 1986. Mr. White holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Tufts University.
Chairman & CEO, Symmetry Software Corporation, WEDC Lead Director
Thomas M. Reahard has served on our Board since November 1995 and currently serves as the Lead Director and is a member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee. He has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Symmetry Software Corporation, a computer software development corporation, since 1984. He is the founder of Scottsdale.com, a co-founder of the Arizona Technology Council and current Chairman of the Barrow Neurological Foundation. Mr. Reahard holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Cornell University and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Missouri.
Thomas J. Toy has served on our Board since October 1998, and currently serves as the Chairman of our Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and is a member of the Audit Committee. He is Managing Director of PacRim Venture Partners, a venture capital firm he co-founded in 1999, and a Partner at SmartForest Ventures, also a venture capital firm. Previously, he was a Partner at Technology Funding, a venture capital firm he worked for from 1987 to 1999. He also serves as a Director and incoming Chairman of the Board of UTStarcom, a manufacturer of wireless communications equipment, a Director of Solarfun Power Holdings, a producer of solar energy cells and modules, as well as several private companies. Mr. Toy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Management degree from Northwestern University.
Jack A. Henry has served on our Board since January 2004 and currently serves as the Chairman of our Audit Committee. He began his career with Arthur Andersen in 1966, and in 2000 retired as the managing partner of the Phoenix office. He then formed Sierra Blanca Ventures LLC, a private investment and advisory firm. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Vista Care, Inc., DHB Industries and one private company. He previously served on the Boards of Directors of Simula, Inc., SOS Staffing Services, Inc., Vodavi Technology, Inc. and Tickets.com, all public-reporting companies. He currently serves as President of the Arizona Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Mr. Henry holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan.
Paul D. Quadros has served on our Board since January 2004 and currently serves as the Chairman of the Compensation Committee and is a member of the Audit Committee. He is a co-founder and former Chairman of the Board of Corautus Genetics (NASDAQ:VEGF), a cardiovascular gene therapy company. In 1995, he co-founded GenStar Therapeutics and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer through a milestone partnering agreement with Baxter Healthcare in 1998. He also served as Chief Financial Officer of GenStar, a public-reporting company, from inception through 2003. Corautus was formed through the merger of GenStar with Vascular Genetics in 2003. He served as the Chairman of GenStar from 1998 and of the merged company until 2004. From 1986 to 1995, he was a General Partner of Technology Funding, a venture capital fund. While at Technology Funding, Mr. Quadros assisted Crystallume, one of the companies that merged to form White Electronic Designs Corporation, with its IPO. He is currently Managing Partner of Tenex Greenhouse Ventures Ltd., a venture capital fund. He also serves as a director of several private companies. He was co-founder and served at various times from 1991-2001 as Chairman of the Board and Audit and Compensation Committee Chairman of Cardiac Science (NASDAQ: CSCX). Mr. Quadros holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from California State University, Fullerton and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.
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