Management Team

Dennis K. Manning
President
Mr. Manning joined SemEquip in December 2004. Prior to SemEquip, he served as the technical services and production manager for Degussa in the Jayhawk Fine Chemicals Facility from 2001 to 2003. Mr. Manning’s background includes 10 years with Eagle-Picher Industries in both research and development and specialty chemical manufacturing. Four years were spent as process engineering and design engineering manager within the Eagle-Picher boron facility directing new product development and process optimization. Previous experience emphasized large scale processing in the petro-chemical industry focusing on international cooperative development projects. Mr. Manning holds a B.S. degree in chemistry and a M.S. degree in chemical engineering. He holds three patents.

Mike Fowler, Ph.D.
Vice President, Marketing & Sales - Worldwide
Dr. Fowler joined SemEquip in October 2006. Prior to SemEquip, he was Japan Regional Marketing Manager for Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates (1999-2006), where he managed a major breakthrough into the Japanese ion implant market for Varian's high current implanters. Before Varian, Dr. Fowler lived for over six years in Japan, firstly as a member of the European Union's Executive Training Program, then working as both an account technologist and account sales director with Novellus Systems (1995-1999). Prior to this, he had acted as Asian Sales Manager for various high technology products of the UK's VG Instruments Group (1987-1993), having moved there following a 2-year post-doctoral position at NEC's Central Research Laboratories in Kawasaki, Japan. Dr. Fowler holds a Ph.D. and B.Sc. in Applied Physics from the University of Durham, and an M.B.A. from Endicott College.

Stuart Zerneri
Vice President, Operations
Mr. Zerneri joined SemEquip February, 2005. Prior to SemEquip, Mr. Zerneri was the director of supply chain and director of operations for Brooks Automation, Inc. Mr. Zerneri's background includes 22 years with Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc., with experience as a quality manager, logistics manager, production and inventory control manager and operations manager. Prior to Varian, he was a captain in the United States Air Force serving as a material management officer. Mr. Zerneri received his M.B.A. from Boston College in 1986 and his M.P.A. from Golden Gate University in 1979. He earned a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts in 1975. Mr. Zerneri is also certified in the following areas: Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM); Certified Quality Manager (CQMgr); Certified Quality Auditor (CQA); Certified in Resource Management (CIRM); and Certified in Production and Inventory (CPIM).

Albert Cefalo J.D., M.S. Eng
Chief Legal Counsel
Mr. Cefalo joined SemEquip Inc. in June 2007. Prior to joining SemEquip, he was Sr. VP of Intellectual property for Cymer, Inc. in San Diego, CA. from 2001 to 2007. Before joining Cymer, Cefalo was Associate General Counsel and Director of Intellectual Property at Apple Computer; he served as Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at PictureTel Corporation in Andover, MA; and served as Assistant General Counsel and Director of Intellectual Property Counsel at Digital Equipment Corporation in Maynard, MA. He earned a juris doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, and both a master's degree in engineering science and a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.

George Sacco
Chief Systems Engineer
Mr. Sacco joined SemEquip in January 2001. Prior to SemEquip, he had 18 years of product development experience. He previously served as Flat Panel Program Manager at Brooks Automation, the leading manufacturer of wafer automation equipment. While at Brooks, Mr. Sacco also led the development of their thermal conditioning modules, a successful line of products to thermally manage wafers and flat panels during processing. Prior to Brooks, he held various engineering positions in Aerospace, at Raytheon, Physical Sciences and Ametek Aerospace, including Chief Engineer for an optical experiment that flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Mr. Sacco received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.