Executive Team
Meet the Chipworks Executive Team
Terry Ludlow
Founder and CEO
Terry Ludlow, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is a recognized pioneer in semiconductor reverse engineering, and was among the first to realize its value for Intellectual Property (IP) groups and technology teams. He founded Chipworks in 1992 to offer semiconductor and microelectronics system reverse engineering services to companies seeking to build a competitive advantage, and protect and grow the potential of their intellectual property. As CEO, Terry continues to provide the strategy, vision, and driving force that have earned Chipworks its position as the premier source of knowledge of what's inside technology.
Terry first developed his passion for reverse engineering while working at Mosaid Technologies as the Manager, Design Analysis Services, and heading the Reverse Engineering Group for three years. Responding to market demand, Mr. Ludlow seized the opportunity and launched the industry devoted to providing evidence of patent infringement and competitive intelligence through reverse engineering.
Today, Chipworks has more than 125 full time dedicated professionals worldwide. IP groups and their legal counsel in the world’s semiconductor and electronics companies trust Chipworks for success in patent licensing and litigation – earning hundreds of millions of dollars in patent licenses and saving as much in royalty payments. Research & Development and Product Management rely on Chipworks for success in new product design and launch – saving hundreds of millions of dollars in design and earning even more through superior product design and faster launches.
Mr. Ludlow frequently addresses industry conferences including the Licensing Executives Society, Corporate Patent Congress, Wall Street Transcript, Information and Technology Association of Canada, Patent Strategies, Brussels IP Summit, Ocean Tomo, IP Business Congress, FSA/GSA, and SMC. He holds numerous patents for his reverse engineering innovations and regularly authors articles for publications around the world.
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Julia Elvidge
President
As President, Julia Elvidge has been a vital part of building Chipworks, the recognized leader in reverse engineering and patent infringement analysis for the world’s largest semiconductor and electronics companies. She joined Chipworks in 1994, and held increasingly senior management positions prior to being named President in 2003. As a result of her longstanding involvement and guidance, intellectual property groups and their legal counsel have come to trust Chipworks for success in patent licensing and litigation – earning hundreds of millions of dollars in patent licenses and saving as much in royalty payments. Research & Development and Product Management rely on Chipworks for success in new product design and launch – saving hundreds of millions of dollars in design and earning even more through superior product design and faster launches.
Julia began her career with Mosaid Technologies, where she grew to recognize the enormous potential reverse engineering held for technology companies. She then joined LSI Logic, where she honed her expertise in ASIC design, ultimately leading her own engineering group. Along the way, Ms. Elvidge has been awarded numerous patents for her work.
Ms. Elvidge has served as a board member of the Information Technology Association of Canada, is a longstanding member of the Licensing Executives Society, and is a member of Mindtrust, a Canadian CEO technology forum. She has won numerous awards for her contributions to entrepreneurship in the high-tech industry, and is a regular speaker at intellectual property events, such as the Licensing Executives Society annual meeting and Ocean Tomo.
A technology enthusiast from a young age, Julia was one of six women in a class of 100 men to pursue an education in electrical engineering. She earned her degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, in Ontario.
In addition to her remarkable career and company success, Julia is a single parent, devoted to her two children.
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Mike Thumm
Vice President, Finance, and Chief Financial Officer
As Vice President, Finance, and Chief Financial Officer, Mike Thumm is responsible for the management of the company’s financial assets. Prior to this role, Mike was Vice President, Patent Intelligence. During this time, he and his team helped IP groups and law firms around the world achieve favorable outcomes in patent licensing and litigation by providing compelling evidence of patent infringement and related services.
Having joined Chipworks in 1997, Mike has held numerous senior positions and was a founding member of Patent Solutions. Patent Solutions is a Chipworks partnership involved in assisting companies in monetizing their IP. In this capacity, he gained significant knowledge of the IP ecosystem/landscape and the details of patent licensing negotiations and litigations. With his long standing tenure, Mike has played an instrumental role in building the company, and helping it successfully prosper as an international player.
Mike brings over 20 years of experience in professional services. Prior to joining Chipworks, Mike was a partner with Arthur Andersen (now Deloitte), where he was responsible for their audit and business advisory services practice in Ottawa. As partner, he assured that his clients were receiving the highest quality of services and value. He also spent several years at Price Waterhouse.
Highly regarded for his business and technical acumen, Mike has been an invited speaker at key industry events, such as the Licensing Executives Society (LES) meetings and Ocean Tomo. He has also authored several articles on patent licensing for print and on-line publications such as Patent World, les Nouvelles, and IP Frontline. Mike has been a member of LES for a number of years, and holds memberships with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Mike received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Administration from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. Outside work he enjoys all sports, with distance running his current favourite activity to clear his mind. He also enjoys music, and is rumored to have an extensive collection of hip-hop.
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Gary Tomkins
Vice President, Technical Intelligence
As Vice President, Technical Intelligence, Gary leads Chipworks services to Design Teams, R&D Teams, and Product Management. Gary and his team work closely with customers around the globe, delivering technical analysis that helps them to benchmark product roadmaps, reduce the time-to-market, and reduce research and development risk. Gary had held other Vice President positions at Chipworks and has also led circuit and process reverse engineering teams focused on providing competitive technical intelligence.
Gary brings more than 20 years of semiconductor and telecommunications technology and business experience to Chipworks. Most recently, he was Director of Operations at Bookham, and prior to that, Director of Fab Operations for Nortel Network’s High Performance Optical Components line of business. In this role, he was accountable for the production of semiconductor lasers, detectors, and modulators used in modern optical networks. Throughout his tenure with Nortel Networks, Gary held increasingly senior technical positions, including Senior Manager, GaAs Fab Operations. In this role, he managed all engineering and operations for wafer fabrication, as well as probing and testing.
He honed his engineering skills at STC Components in the U.K. where he developed silicon process technologies, including the first commercial polysilicon-emitter bipolar processes and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processes for fast access static random access memories (SRAMS). While in England, Gary worked for STC Semiconductors and Standard Telecommunications Laboratories.
Gary earned his Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Physical Electronics at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England. In his spare time, Gary enjoys playing soccer, and has even demonstrated competence with a hockey stick and skates.
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Bill Davies
Vice President, Core Capabilities
As Vice President, Core Capabilities, Bill Davies is responsible for the processes, equipment, quality, and technology used in Chipworks’ laboratories. Bill brings 22 years of experience in designing and building semiconductors, optoelectronics, and printed circuit cards to the company.
Prior to joining Chipworks, Bill worked with Tundra Semiconductor, where he leveraged his operations leadership expertise to work with and manage international suppliers, and lead several business acquisition teams. In addition, Bill was the product manager for the company’s highest revenue-producing product line. Before joining Tundra, he worked for 12 years at Nortel Networks. Bill’s engineering experience there included assembly, test, back end wafer fabrication, and optoelectronics, as well as managing several teams developing next-generation packaging technologies. Bill began his career with General Dynamics, formerly Computing Devices, working on military electronics systems.
An expert in his field, Bill is a well-known speaker, author, and webinar presenter. His work has been published in numerous trade journals including Power Management, Designline, Advanced Microelectronics, and Semiconductor International. He was awarded two patents in the field of packaging, received the Nortel President’s Award for Innovation, and has taught college courses in statistical process control.
Bill earned his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, with a minor in Management Science, from the University of Waterloo in Ontario. Outside of his many responsibilities at Chipworks, Bill is an Engineer in Residence at an Ottawa Public School, and the bassist in a well-known local rock band.
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Dave Fraser
Vice President, Global Sales
As Vice President, Global Sales, Dave Fraser leads a team of senior account professionals located across seven regions and three continents. Prior to this role, Dave served as Vice President, Marketing and also played a key role in corporate strategic planning. Whether serving on the management team of a start-up, building a consulting practice, helping launch products in channels, or advising clients on market expansion strategies, he has a track record of driving growth at home and abroad.
Dave brings to Chipworks 20 years of experience in consultative selling, strategic marketing, business development, and client services across numerous industries. Prior to joining Chipworks, he served as Vice President of Client Services at a marketing automation software company. During his tenure in software, Dave also worked as Vice President Alliances and Vice President Sales and Marketing. Previously, he was Director of Business Development at a global telecommunications hardware vendor, and Director at Deloitte Consulting/Braxton Associates, a counseling companies on business strategies. In addition to his experience throughout Canada and the U.S., he worked and lived in Latin America for five years.
Dave holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Politics from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. He has been a panelist at more than 15 industry events, a guest on national radio, and has authored more than 10 articles for a wide range of publications, including The Economist Intelligence Unit.
In his spare time, Dave is a Masters swimmer, and lead guitarist in a rock band that has raised tens of thousands of dollars for local charities. Notwithstanding the band’s success, several listeners have advised Dave to not quit his day job.
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