Aart J. de Geus | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 11, 1954 Vlaardingen, Netherlands |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman and electrical engineer |
| Known for | Co-founding and lCEO, Synopsys Inc. |
Aart J. de Geus (born June 11, 1954) is a co-founder and executive chair of Synopsys Inc., where he was CEO until January 2024.[1][2]
De Geus graduated with a master's degree in electrical engineering (1978) from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Swiss Federal Institute of technology), EPFL, Switzerland followed by a Ph.D. from Southern Methodist University, Texas, United States, in 1985.[3] De Geus was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science degree from the University of Glasgow in 2022.[4]
De Geus is one of the original pioneers of Electronic Design Automation (EDA), the software tools used in the semiconductor industry to design chips. De Geus was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2019 for leadership and technical contributions to logic synthesis for integrated circuits. He is also a fellow of IEEE and a Phil Kaufman Award winner, and he received the IEEE Robert N. Noyce Medal for his leadership in the technology and business development of EDA. He is on the board of the Global Semiconductor Association (GSA) and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.[5] He was the chairman and CEO of the Bertelsmann Stiftung foundation between 2011 and 2019.[6]
De Geus is also the lead guitarist of Silicon Valley's 'Legally Blue' blues band.[7]
De Geus started his career at GE with Rohrer, leading a team that developed tools including the Synthesis and Optimization of Combinational logic, using a Rule-based and Technology-independent Expert System (SOCRATES) synthesis program.[7][8]
When GE removed itself from the semiconductor business, de Geus met with Ed Hood, Vice Chair of GE, and convinced GE to support a spin-off of the synthesis technology with an additional $400,000 investment in return for equity in a new venture.[9][10][11] With two members of his original GE team, David Gregory and Bill Krieger, de Geus founded Optimal Solutions Inc. in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina on December 18, 1986.[7]
In 1987, the company moved to Silicon Valley and was renamed Synopsys, combining the terms Synthesis and Optimization Systems.[7] When the company went public on February 26, 1992, de Geus turned GE’s initial investment into $23 million.[9][12] As of 2024, Synopsys has over 100 global offices, annual sales topping $5.8 billion in revenue, and over 20,000 employees worldwide.[13]
As Synopsys’ CEO, de Geus led the company through several phases, including commercializing automated logic synthesis, expanding its product portfolio, and navigating acquisitions.[12][14] De Geus grew the company from a small, one-product start-up to a provider of IC design tools, semiconductor IP, and application security solutions.[15] He credits working on a farm during his youth every summer for learnings and principles he applied to Synopsys’ corporate culture.[16]
Electronic Business magazine chose De Geus as one of "The 10 Most Influential Executives" of 2002.[17][18] He was honored for pioneering the commercial logic synthesis market, becoming the third recipient of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society Industrial Pioneer Award. Also in 2002, shortly after handling the largest merger in electronic design automation history, De Geus was named CEO of the Year by Electronic Business magazine. In 2004 he was named Entrepreneur of the Year in IT for Northern California by Ernst & Young. De Geus is the recipient of the 2007 IEEE Robert N. Noyce Medal For contributions to, and leadership in, the technology and business development of the Electronic Design Automation. He was awarded in 2008 Phil Kaufman Award for distinguished contributions to electronic design automation.