Decision Makers
Board of Directors
Since October 2002, Vic Viegas has been Immersion's CEO, president, and member of the Board of Directors. From February 2002 to February 2005, he also served as president, COO, and CFO, having joined Immersion in August 1999 as CFO, VP Finance. During his tenure, he has helped bring the company public, increased operational efficiency, added new licensing relationships in the markets Immersion serves, and has guided Immersion's growth as a company including its litigation efforts. From June 1996 to August 1999, he served as vice president of finance and administration and CFO of Macrovision Corporation, a developer and licensor of video and software copy-protection technologies. From October 1986 to June 1996, he served as vice president of finance and CFO of Balco Incorporated, a manufacturer of advanced automotive service equipment. He holds a bachelor's in accounting and an MBA from Santa Clara University. Viegas is also a CPA in the state of California.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Corporation |
CEO, President |
Current |
| Immersion Medical |
Director |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
President, Coo |
Former |
| Immersion Corporation |
Cfo, Vice President |
Former |
| Balco, Inc. |
CFO |
Former |
| Balco, Inc. |
Vice President of Finance |
Former |
| Santa Clara University |
Bachelor's In Accounting and An Mba |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Corporation |
CTO & Vice President, Gaming |
Current |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Medical |
Cfo and Vice President, Finance |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Cfo and Vice President, Finance |
Current |
| BAM! Entertainment, Inc. |
CFO & Vice President, Finance |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Insignia Solutions Plc |
CFO |
Former |
| Insignia Solutions Plc |
senior vice president, Finance |
Former |
| BAM! Entertainment, Inc. |
vice president, Finance |
Former |
Christophe Ramstein is Immersion's senior vice president of engineering and research and president of Immersion Canada, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary. Since 1988, Ramstein has been designing, developing, and evangelizing haptic systems, adding synthetic touch to the human-computer interaction experience. In 1988 he completed a Master's degree in Applied Mathematics at the Institute Joseph Fourier and, in 1991, completed a PhD in computer sciences at the National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble, France. From 1992 to 1996, he managed major R&D projects in the field of haptics and simulation with Industry Canada, the Canadian Space Agency, McGill University, and private companies. He authored many patents and innovative technical papers presented at international conferences. In 1994, he demonstrated the first multimodal system allowing visually impaired users to freely navigate the Windows desktop with a haptic mouse. In 1996, he founded Haptic Technologies, Inc. focusing on the engineering and production of programmable haptic systems. When Immersion Corporation acquired Haptic Technologies in 2000, Ramstein became senior director of software and driver development. In 2001, he became general manager of Immersion Canada and in October 2002 was promoted to vice president of Immersion's engineering group.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Medical |
Senior Vice President, Research and Engineering |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Senior Vice President, Research and Engineering |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Senior Director |
Former |
Mr. Zuckerman is responsible for all aspects of marketing and business development at I-many and brings extensive experience in the development and execution of marketing programs for enterprise software companies. Zuckerman was previously senior vice president and general manager of the 3D business group at Immersion Corporation, a publicly-traded technology company, after first serving as senior vice president and general manager of its industrial business group, as well as senior vice president of marketing. Prior to Immersion, Zuckerman was vice president of marketing for Verity, Inc., a publicly-traded enterprise software company (now part Autonomy Corporation plc), where he was instrumental in making Verity an international leader in infrastructure software for search, categorization and personalization for the Global 2000. Mr. Zuckerman holds a BSEE in electrical engineering from University of Maryland College Park.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Edge Dynamics, Inc. |
Senior Vice President, Marketing (Executive Team Member) |
Current |
| I-many, Inc. |
Senior Vice President and General Manager |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Senior Vice President |
Current |
| Edge Dynamics, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Verity, Inc. |
Vice President of Marketing |
Former |
| Immersion Corporation |
Manager |
Former |
| University of Maryland |
Bsee In Electrical Engineering |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Corporation |
Senior Vice President |
Current |
| Kinetic Concepts, Inc. |
|
Former |
| Harvard Business School |
MBA |
Former |
| Middlebury College |
bachelor's degree |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Corporation |
Vice President & General Manager |
Current |
Gayle Schaeffer joined Immersion in February 2004 and is responsible for corporate marketing and the 3D Business Group. Previously, she was worldwide vice president of business development for consumer electronics at Material Sciences Corporation and vice president of worldwide marketing for Elo TouchSystems. Prior to Elo, she held various marketing, engineering, and operations management positions for Raychem Corporation and Exxon Company U.S.A. She has a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Idaho and an MBA from University of California, Berkeley.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Medical |
Vice President, Corporate Marketing |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Vice President, Corporate Marketing |
Current |
| Material Sciences Corporation |
vice president of worldwide marketing |
Former |
| University of California, Berkeley |
Mba |
Former |
| University of Idaho |
Bachelor's Degree In Chemical Engineering |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Corporation |
Vice President, Sales |
Current |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Corporation |
Vice President & General Manager, Mobility |
Current |
Mark Belinsky is vice president and general manager of Immersion's Mobility and Gaming business groups, responsible for products and technology targeted at the mobile phone, PDA, personal navigation, and other mobile device markets, and at the PC and video console gaming market. Belinsky joined Immersion in October 2003 as vice president of marketing strategy to oversee Immersion's strategic direction. Previously at Macrovision Corporation, he served eight years as senior vice president and general manager of the company's video technology, e-licensing, and music DRM divisions and also as senior vice president of business development, spearheading Macrovision's investment in digital watermarking leader Digimarc Corporation and its $800M acquisition of Globetrotter Software. Prior to his tenure at Macrovision, Belinsky served in senior marketing and operations capacities at Electronic Marketplace Systems, Interop Company, and Unisoft Corporation. Belinsky holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Wayne State University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Corporation |
Vice President and General Manager, Mobility and Gaming |
Current |
| Immersion Medical |
Senior Vice President and General Manager |
Former |
| Digimarc Corporation |
|
Former |
| Interop Inc |
|
Former |
| Harvard Business School |
Mba |
Former |
| Wayne State University |
Bachelor's Degree In Business Administration |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Corporation |
Vice President, Product |
Current |
Anne DeGheest joined Immersion's board of directors on March 1, 2007. DeGheest has served since August 1986 as founder and principal of MedStars, an investment and executive management firm specializing in starting and developing new life sciences companies with innovative products and services, which have included Pyxis, Aspect Medical Systems, Visicu, Thermage, and Pixel Optics. She also serves on the device screening committee of Life Science Angels, Inc., an angel investment group focused solely on biotechnology and medical device companies. From March through November 1998, she was an entrepreneur in residence at Institutional Venture Partners, a venture capital firm. From November 1998 to September 2002, DeGheest founded and served as president and chief executive officer of medpool.com, Inc., an e-commerce hospital procurement company. Previously, she was vice president of marketing at OmniCell Technologies, a leader in automated point-of-use management systems for medical supplies, and marketing director for Nellcor, a manufacturer of pulse oximetry and critical care solutions. DeGheest also held a sales and marketing management position in Raychem's Computer and Telecommunication Division. She has a master's degree in general engineering and business from the University of Brussels, Belgium, and an MBA from Harvard University.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Corporation |
Founder and Principal |
Current |
| Medstars |
Founder |
Current |
| Immersion Medical |
Founder and Principal |
Current |
| Concept Ventures |
|
Current |
| Immersion Medical |
Director |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Director |
Current |
| Pixeloptics, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Nellcor |
Marketing Director |
Former |
| Institutional Venture Partners |
Entrepreneur In Residence |
Former |
| University of Brussels |
Master In Commercial Engineering |
Former |
| Harvard University |
Master In Business Administration |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Corporation |
|
Current |
| Authentidate, Inc. |
|
Former |
| Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania |
|
Former |
| Northeastern University |
degrees in electrical engineering, computer science |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Apexon, Inc. |
CEO |
Current |
| Elo Touchsystems, Inc. |
CEO |
Current |
| Apexon, Inc. |
president |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Raychem |
|
Former |
| Stanford University |
master's degree in Engineering |
Former |
| Purdue University |
bachelor's degree in Engineering |
Former |
Mr. Saltich has served as the Chairman of the Board since February 2009, and as a member of the Board since January 2002. Mr. Saltich also served as Lead Independent Director from October 2007 to February 2009. Since February 2006, Mr. Saltich has served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vitex Systems, Inc., a developer of transparent ultra-thin barrier films for use in the manufacture of next-generation flat panel displays. From July 1999 to August 2005, he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Three-Five Systems, Inc., a technology company specializing in the design, development, and manufacturing of customer displays and display systems. Three-Five Systems, Inc. filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on September 8, 2005. From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Saltich served as a Vice President of Advanced Micro Devices, where his last position was General Manager of its European Microelectronics Center in Dresden, Germany. Mr. Saltich also serves on the Board of Directors of Leadis Technology, Ramtron International Corporation, Atmel Corporation and on the Manufacturing Advisory Board for Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. Mr. Saltich received both a B.S. and an M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| AVI BioPharma, Inc. |
President and Chief Executive Officer, Cygnus, Inc. |
Current |
| InterMune, Inc. |
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
Current |
| AVI BioPharma, Inc. |
Chairman |
Current |
| Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals Ltd |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Alpha Innotech Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| AeroGen, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Cygnus, Inc. |
CEO |
Former |
| AeroGen, Inc. |
Chief Executive Officer |
Former |
| AeroGen, Inc. |
President |
Former |
| Cygnus, Inc. |
President |
Former |
| Cygnus, Inc. |
Chief Financial Officer |
Former |
| Cygnus, Inc. |
Vice President of Finance |
Former |
| Central Point Software |
Officer |
Former |
| Cygnus, Inc. |
Chairman |
Former |
| Immersion Corporation |
Chairman |
Former |
| University of Utah |
M.B.A. |
Former |
| Brigham Young University |
bachelor's degree |
Former |
| University of Utah |
B.S. |
Former |
| Brigham Young University |
bachelor's degree |
Former |
Executive Chairman, Palm, Inc. As executive chairman of Palm, Inc., Jon Rubinstein is chairman of the company's board of directors. In addition, he is an executive officer of the company and leads the company's product-development efforts, focused on driving innovation in the mobile-computing market. Jon has helped launch some of the most influential computing products of the past decade. As a member of Apple Inc.'s executive staff and head of hardware engineering, he was instrumental in conceiving the iPod, one of the most successful consumer electronics products ever. He also led the team that built the iMac. Jon began his Apple career in 1997 as senior vice president for hardware engineering. He quickly made a mark by overhauling the company's engineering teams, product roadmaps and manufacturing processes. In 1998, Jon led his new, more nimble engineering team through a rapid rollout of the colorful, egg-shaped iMac, a machine that at once revitalized Apple and revolutionized personal computer design. As the success of the iPod soared, he became head of the iPod Division. Before joining Apple, Jon spent two decades building his career at a variety of other computer companies, including Hewlett-Packard and NeXT, and started his own computer company, Firepower Systems Inc. He developed many successful products and received a variety of patents during this period. Jon is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and a senior member of the IEEE. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from Cornell University and a master's degree in computer science from Colorado State University.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Palm, Inc. |
Chairman, CEO & President |
Current |
| Association for Computing Machinery |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Green Plug Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Ieee |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| CoolSystems Inc. |
Advisory Board Member |
Current |
| Association for Computing Machinery |
Member |
Current |
| Apple Inc. |
Senior Vice President |
Former |
| NeXT Computer, Inc. |
Vice President of Hardware Engineering |
Former |
| Hewlett-Packard Company |
|
Former |
| Ipod |
|
Former |
| Jobs.Com, Inc. |
|
Former |
| Colorado State University |
master's degree in computer science |
Former |
| Cornell University |
BS degrees in electrical engineering |
Former |
| Colorado State University |
B.S. |
Former |
| Cornell University |
degrees in electrical engineering |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Immersion Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
Rob Van Naarden joined Immersion's board of directors on October 23, 2002. He is currently executive vice president of business development for Verdasys, Inc., an enterprise software company. He has held numerous executive management positions at emerging hardware and software companies including AuthentiDate, Sensar, Netframe, FirePower Systems, Ardent Computer, and Convergent Technologies. Van Naarden holds bachelor's degrees in physics and electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and master's degrees in electrical engineering/computer science from Northeastern University.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Verdasys, Inc. |
Executive Vice President of Business Development |
Current |
| Authentidate, Inc. |
|
Current |
| Sensar |
|
Current |
| Convergent Technologies Inc. |
|
Current |
| Immersion Medical |
Director |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Director |
Current |
| Northeastern University |
Master's |
Former |
| University of Pittsburgh |
Bachelor's Degrees In Physics and Electrical Engineering |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Vampkitty Designs |
|
Current |
| Vsp Capital |
|
Current |
| Core Mobility |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Immersion Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Supermac |
Vice President of Marketing |
Former |
| Supermac |
Founder |
Former |
Executive News
-
Palm lobs another volley at Apple in smartphone war
Reuters - 7/24/09 - View Story
-
Bay Biz Buzz: Palm's Pre reconnects to iTunes
Alameda Times-Star - 7/24/09 - View Story
-
Palm Pre reconnects with estranged iTunes
Seattle Times - 7/24/09 - View Story
-
Research In Motion Crashes Apple's Party
Motley Fool - 7/22/09 - View Story
-
Apple Disables iTunes Sync Feature on Palm Pre
CIO Today - 7/21/09 - View Story
-
Apple Disables iTunes Sync for Pre
CIO Today - 7/17/09 - View Story
-
Apple plays softball with Palm
CNN Money - 7/17/09 - View Story
-
Apple disables iTunes sync feature on Palm Pre
Seattle Times - 7/16/09 - View Story
-
Apple disables iTunes sync feature on Palm Pre
San Jose Mercury News - 7/15/09 - View Story
-
Palm lines up carriers to launch Pre in Europe, Canada
Venturebeat - 7/07/09 - View Story
-
Palm Pre Bound For Europe
Information Week - 7/07/09 - View Story
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What deals are in the works for Dell?
Marketwatch - 7/07/09 - View Story
-
Telefonica and O2 Confirm Exclusive Rights to the Palm Pre
Cellular-News - 7/07/09 - View Story
-
Palm Pre to Launch in Europe with O2 and Movistar
Forbes.com - 7/07/09 - View Story
-
Palm Pre to Launch in Europe with O2 and Movistar
Reuters - 7/07/09 - View Story
-
Palm Pre to Launch in Europe with O2 and Movistar
Business Wire - 7/07/09 - View Story
-
Palm wants quality, not quantity, apps
Delaware Online - 7/06/09 - View Story
-
O2 Rumoured to Have Exclusive Rights to Sell Palm Pre in UK
Cellular-News - 7/02/09 - View Story
-
You, Palm Pre, Are No iPhone
E-Commerce Times - 6/30/09 - View Story
-
Apple, Palm: When Silence Isn't Golden
Barron's Online - 6/29/09 - View Story