Our Management Team

KAMRAN ELAHIAN
Chairman and co-founder

Elahian has more than 24 years of experience in the IC, software, and systems industries. He is one of the best known figures in Silicon Valley, having co-founded two highly successful semiconductor companies, Neomagic Corporation and Cirrus Logic, Inc., as well as numerous other high-tech ventures.

FARAJ AALAEI
CEO and co-founder

Aalaei has more than 19 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Prior to co-founding Centillium, he was the director of access product planning and management at Fujitsu’s Network Communications in Richardson, Texas. Aalaei was the architect of Fujitsu’s broadband access technologies, including DSL products. Before Fujitsu, he spent 10 years at Bell Labs designing advanced telecommunications products. Aalaei also spent 4 years as a microwave design engineer at M/A Comm in Burlington, Mass. Aalaei holds a MSEE from University of Massachusetts and an MBA from University of New Hampshire. Aalaei holds one U.S. patent.

SHAHIN HEDAYAT
President and co-founder

Hedayat has more than 15 years of experience in the semiconductor industry. Majority of his background is in product definition and development for telecommunication and data communication. Prior to co-founding Centillium, Hedayat spent 11 years at Cirrus Logic where he became Vice President of Engineering for Computer Telephony products. He was the architect of V.32bis and V.34 products which achieved multi-million unit shipments. Before Cirrus Logic, Hedayat worked for National Semiconductor for 2 years at the capacity of Design Engineer. Hedayat is credited with an MSEE from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and is holder of 6 U.S. patents.

JOHN LUHTALA
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Luhtala has over 30 years of experience in finance, legal, and accounting in domestic and international business environments with Fortune 500 companies and startup organizations. Luhtala brings experience in domestic and international finance. Prior to joining Centillium, John Luhtala was Senior Vice President of Operations and CFO at Santa Cruz Operations (SCO), a $223-million supplier of UNIX operating systems. Prior to SCO, Luhtala was CFO and Vice President of Mergers, Acquisitions, and Joint Ventures for SyQuest Technology, a $300-million manufacturer of removable cartridge disk drives. Before Syquest, Luhtala spent nine years with Amdahl Corporation in various financial management positions, including International Treasury Manager, Director of Finance for Amdahl France, Assistant Controller, and Director of Finance for Compatible Systems. Prior to Amdahl, Luhtala held various international and domestic management positions with Sensormatic Electronics, US Leasing International, and Richardson-Vicks. Luhtala has a B.A. (cum laude) from Bradley University, a J.D. from New York University Law School, and an MBA from the Stanford Business School.

SURENDRA BABU MANDAVA
Vice President of Engineering and co-founder

Mandava has more than 12 years of experience in the semiconductor industry. Prior to co-founding Centillium, Mandava was manager of IC design for Cirrus Logic where he was the architect of various DSPs used in wireless and V.34 modem products as well as an ARM-based controller for V.34 modems. Earlier at Zilog, Mandava was the architect of the world’s first single chip micro-controller/DSP combination. Mandava holds one U.S. patent.

JON SHERBURNE
Vice President of Worldwide Sales

Sherburne joins Centillium after spending the last two years with Maker Communications, a manufacturer of semiconductor ICs for communications equipment. At Maker, Sherburne won over 30 designs with major telecom/datacom companies, including 3Com, Alcatel, Ascend, Cisco, Lucent, Nortel, and Siemens. Prior to Maker, Sherburne spent nine years with VLSI Technology in various positions, including Director of Apple Worldwide Sales, Vice President of North American Computer and Government Sales and Technology Centers, and Vice President of Western U.S. Sales and Technology Centers. Prior to VLSI, Sherburne held various management and engineering positions at Advanced Micro Devices and Texas Instruments.

WILLIAM F. MACKENZIE
Vice President of Operations

Mackenzie has more than 12 years of experience in the semiconductor and communications industries. Mackenzie spent more than eight years with LSI Logic Corporation in the United States and Canada, and four years with Motorola Semiconductors in Scotland. Prior to joining Centillium, Mackenzie was Corporate Director of Customer Quality and Reliability at LSI Logic Corporation. With extensive experience in the design, fabrication and manufacturing of semiconductor devices, boards, and system-level products, Mackenzie understands the 'fabless' company business model and the multi-faceted challenges facing manufacturers of telecom equipment.

SUZAN B. D. SCHANIN
Vice President of Human Resources

Schanin has over 16 years of experience in compensation, benefits, organizational development, and staffing in high technology, biotechnology, and medical device companies. Her experience ranges from early stage start-ups who then went public, through Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining Centillium she was the Senior Strategist for the start-up computer business division at Sony Electronics, and prior to that, Director, Human Resources at E.P. Technologies. She also served as Manager, Human Resources at Applied Immune Sciences, and additional positions were held at Encore Computer and Prime Computer. Schanin holds a BSBM from University of Phoenix.