Rupert Baines joins CSA Catapult Board of Directors

Tech entrepreneur Rupert Baines has been appointed a Non-Executive Director at Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult. A seasoned and well-respected figure in the UK semiconductor industry, Rupert brings with him a wealth of experience in entrepreneurship and tech start-ups.

In this role, he will work with members of the Board to support the corporate governance of the Catapult and to inform its long-term strategy. Rupert has founded several technology companies and has had three successful exits. He was CEO of UltraSoc, which was sold to Siemens in July 2020, CMO of Codasip, and CEO of QPT. He is currently Chair of RANsemi, Chair of Cambridge Tech Week and Co-Chair of the Semiconductor Expert Working Group industry body reporting into the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology.

Rupert is extremely passionate about supporting the next generation of tech entrepreneurs and currently serves as a Mentor with Silicon Catalyst’s ChipStart program. He is also a Fellow at DeepTech Labs.  Rupert is also a Trustee of the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF), which conducts several initiatives to encourage and support young people to study electronic engineering.

Speaking of his appointment, Rupert said: “I am extremely excited to be joining CSA Catapult’s Board and look forward to supporting the Catapult’s vision of helping the UK become a global leader in compound semiconductors. “I worked with compound semiconductors, specifically silicon germanium, early on in my career at Analog Devices and caught a first glimpse of how effective and powerful they can be.

“Since then, the compound semiconductor industry has grown rapidly, and the UK has developed significant strength in this area. We have a rare combination of great research and manufacturing capability with clusters around the country doing some very exciting things.”