Joined the Company in October 1995 as its President and Chief Operating Officer and became Chief Executive Officer in December 1996. Mr. Richards has been a director of the Company since May 1995. From September 1994 to December 1996, Mr. Richards was a Senior Managing Director of Jesup & Lamont Capital Markets Inc. ("Jesup & Lamont" (an affiliate of a registered broker-dealer)). From December 1994 to 1997, he was a member and President of Jesup & Lamont Merchant Partners, L.L.C. From 1992 through 1994, Mr. Richards was a principal with Hauser, Richards & Co., a firm engaged in corporate restructuring and management turnarounds. From 1986 until 1992, Mr. Richards was a Director at Prudential-Bache Capital Funding in its Investment Banking Division.
Joined the Company in March 1998 and has served in a variety of leadership roles. He co-started EMCORE's Photovoltaics Division, and subsequently managed the Fiber Optics Division. He was Executive Vice President of Business Development and Product Strategy before becoming Vice President and General Manager of EMCORE's Ortel Division. From 1995 to 1998 he was a Principal Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. Prior to that, he served with AT&T Bell Laboratories, engaging in research on high-speed optoelectronic devices. He holds a Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at San Diego and a Bachelor of Science degree from Jilin University in China. He has published over 150 journal articles and holds seven U.S. patents.
Joined the Company in May 2004 as Senior Director of Business Development and Product Strategy. Prior to his current role, Mr. Larocca served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of EMCORE's Solar Photovoltaic division. Between April 2001 and May 2004, he served as Vice President of GELcore, a solid-state lighting joint venture between EMCORE and General Electric. Prior to joining GELcore in 2001, Mr. Larocca held a variety of commercial and Six Sigma roles within General Electric’s Lighting division. Mr. Larocca holds a Master degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Clemson University. He is also a board member of Langfang EMCORE Optoelectronics Co. Ltd.
Joined the Company in May 1998 as a Senior Development Engineer. Mr. Wang then served as R&D Manager, Engineering Director, and Development Director for EMCORE’s Digital Products division. Prior to joining EMCORE, Mr. Wang held the position of R&D Manager at Semiconductor Laser International Corporation (SLIC) between August 1996 and April 1998. Mr. Wang holds a Ph.D degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Science degree in Optics from Changchun Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics. He is the Chairman of the Board for Langfang EMCORE Optoelectronics Co. Ltd (EMCORE China), and also an adjunct professor for the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering at the University of New Mexico.
Joined the Company in May 2004 and is responsible for driving the strategic direction of the human resources and information technology functions and ensuring their alignment to the business. In addition, Mrs. Van Berkel is responsible for managing the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors and acts as Chairman of the 401K Committee. She is a veteran in the human resources field with 15 years of experience including senior human resources positions with companies such as: First Data, Gateway and Western Digital. During her career, Mrs. Van Berkel has managed human resource functions from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, supporting industries in high tech, manufacturing, and professional services. Mrs. Van Berkel holds a Master of Science Degree in Administration of Justice from San Jose State University.
Joined the Company in September 2007 as Corporate Counsel. Prior to his current role, Mr. Gomez served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. Mr. Gomez started his legal career as a corporate associate with the Newport Beach, California law firm of Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth. Prior to joining EMCORE, Mr. Gomez served as inhouse corporate counsel for Western Digital Corporation, and as Director of Legal Affairs for j2 Global Communications, Inc. Mr. Gomez earned a B.A. degree in Economics from Stanford University and he received his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.
