Kathy Herring Hayashi
Qualcomm
Director, IEEE Region 6, IEEE MGS
and IEEE Board of Directors, USA
Biography: Kathy Hayashi is the IEEE Director Region 6 (Western Region U.S), IEEE USA, IEEE MGS and IEEE Board of Directors (2020-present). Kathy has been involved in the semiconductor industry her entire career – developing, deploying and analyzing advanced software tools used to create computer and mobile phone chips. At Unisys Corporation, she worked in research and development designing advanced in-house CAD software tools. Through acquisition, she transitioned to Cadence Design Systems where some previous tools were incorporated into commercial EDA tools. She then brought her professional leadership as Director at Syntricity, a San Diego based semiconductor startup.
Kathy has held a variety of leadership roles in technical development, applications engineering and information technology. She currently works at Qualcomm Inc., working with semiconductor workflows in large scale compute environments.
Kathy served on the Executive Board for the San Diego Dance Theater and has been on Technical Advisory Boards for local community colleges. She has also been a member of a San Diego Athena Forum for Executive Women.
Invited Speech Title
Advancing DEI: Building a Future of Inclusive Innovation
Abstract: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is not a short-term initiative, but a long-term commitment to building robust infrastructure and processes for continuous improvement. Over the years, we’ve witnessed various stages of DEI projects and industry evolution. To truly drive innovation, we need a global and diverse group of technologists. Diverse interests and perspectives are essential to unlocking the full potential of innovation. In this talk, we’ll explore the progress and initiatives that have shaped DEI and discuss ongoing efforts to foster a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion, ensuring that every voice contributes to our collective success.