Dr. Yang Zhao is our founder and has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since our inception. Dr. Zhao has over 15 years of experience in MEMS technology and related business development. Prior to founding our company in 1999, Dr. Zhao served in various management positions at Analog Devices, Inc. for seven years, where he was instrumental in developing ADI's potential MEMS product line and forming industry-wide strategic relationships. Dr. Zhao is well-recognized in the field of MEMS technology. He has been named as an inventor on 11 U.S. patents in IC circuit, processing, packaging and MEMS technology. Dr. Zhao holds a B.S. degree in physics from Peking University, as well as a master's degree and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Princeton University where he studied under Professor Daniel Tsui, who won the 1998 Nobel Prize in physics. He is currently the vice chairman of the board at the School of Engineering of Peking University.

Patricia Niu has served as our Vice President of Finance since September 2006. Ms. Niu has over 12 years of experience in corporate finance and four years of experience in commercial banking. Prior to joining us in 2002, Ms. Niu served as the International Business Unit Controller at Key3Media Events, Inc. from 2001 to 2002 and the Senior Financial Analyst and Audit Supervisor at Fesenius Medical Care, N.A. from 1995 to 2001. From 1989 through 1995, Ms. Niu served as a commercial lender at the Savings Bank in Wakefield, Massachusetts and the Bank of China, Head Office in Beijing, China. Ms. Niu received an M.B.A. from Northeastern University in Boston in 1994 and a B.A. from Beijing Foreign Studies University in China in 1989. She is also a certified public accountant.

Mark Laich joined MEMSIC's executive team as Vice President of Worldwide Sales in October 2008. Mr. Laich comes to MEMSIC with over 20 years of semiconductor sales and intellectual property licensing expertise with high growth companies. Mr. Laich has extensive experience establishing sales channels throughout the world, managing culturally diverse and geographically dispersed sales teams, directing the sales of complex semiconductor products, and establishing strategic relationships with major customers.

Most recently Laich served as at Vice President of Sales at Potentia Semiconductor, where he was and was responsible for directing worldwide sales of the company's power management and conversion products. As a member of Potentia's executive team, Laich was instrumental in refocusing the company's business strategy on high revenue opportunities in flat panel TV applications.

Prior to Potentia, Mark held senior sales management positions at Azanda Network Devices, Lexra, ZSP, LG and Zilog. He began his career at AMD in Sunnyvale, CA and Austin, TX and received his B.S.E.E. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia.