LES Silicon Valley Chapter Annual Meeting 2026
“Innovation in the Age of Acceleration” brought together over 130 professionals at the iconic Computer History Museum on April 2, 2026, in Mountain View, California. The LES Silicon Valley Chapter (LES-SVC), chaired by Efrat Kasznik, with the meeting co-chaired by Natalie Punnilathil and Sean Clark, welcomed guests to its 22nd annual gathering.
Meeting leaders from left: Natalie Punnilathil and Sean Clark, co-chairs, with Efrat Kasznik, LES SVC Chair.
A Fireside Chat with Heather Kernahan – The Hidden Multiplier Behind Every Tech Success Story
Moderator: Edgar Baum, Founder and CEO, Avasta, with Heather Kernahan, Founder and CEO, Novello Ventures
Their discussion explored how strategic communications, branding, and investor relationships can significantly help the success of technology companies beyond the underlying innovation itself. They also discussed the evolving venture capital landscape, how startups can better position themselves for growth, and the importance of storytelling and market perception in attracting partners, customers, and funding.
Panel Discussion:
Powering the Digital Economy: Semiconductors, Data Centers, and the Intelligent Edge
Panelists from left: Jason Kang, Assistant Director and Group Counsel of Patents, Intel; Alica Shah, Attorney, Tenstorrent; Mark Reiten, Vice President Memory Products and Licensing Business Units, Microchip; Elizabeth Morris, Legal Director of Intellectual Property & Product, Pure Storage; and Moderator: George Park, Ph.D., Vice President, Business Development, IPValue.
This panel explored key technology and market developments in semiconductor processors, networking, memory, and advanced packaging, and how these innovations are enabling next-generation data centers optimized for performance, power efficiency, and cooling demands.
Panel Discussion:
The Modern IP Profession: IP Management, Licensing and Litigation in the Age of AI
Panelists from left: Gail Su, Senior Counsel, Google; Chen Gu, Patent Practitioner Lead, Patlytics; Moderator: Tim Pohlmann, Managing Director Americas, LexisNexis Intellectual; Kirti Gupta, Vice President and Chief Economist of Global Technology, Cornerstone Research; and Jessica Meyers, Senior Corporate Counsel, Microsoft.
Leading experts from across the IP profession explored the way artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from experimentation to practical deployment. They focused on the growing role of AI in patent portfolio management, licensing strategy, and patent litigation, with panelists sharing firsthand perspectives on how AI tools are already improving efficiency in areas such as prior art analysis, portfolio assessment, competitive landscape mapping, infringement detection, and damages analysis. At the same time, the conversation emphasized that AI is not replacing human expertise, particularly in high-stakes strategic and legal decisions, but rather augmenting IP professionals’ ability to process and interpret increasingly complex datasets.
Panel Discussion:
IP: What Angel Investors Look for in Startups
Panelists from left: Dr. Ronald Weissman, Chairman, Software Industry Group at Band of Angels; Phil Hartstein, Co-Founder and Partner, Soryn IP Capital Management; Efrat Kasznik, President, Foresight Valuation Group, LLC; Moderator: Mark Holmes, CEO, PatentBridge.
This panel explored how early-stage investors and startup founders think about IP in the real world — when it drives valuation, fundraising, and competitive advantage, and when execution and speed matter more.
Panel Discussion:
Funding the Future: VC Perspectives
Panelists from left: Mark Holmes, CEO, PatentBridge; Moderator: Larry Udell, LES Silicon Valley Chapter Founder, LES-SVC Past Chair; Nola Masterson, Lead Investor, Portfolia Femtech Funds; Bill Reichert, Partner, Pegasus Tech Ventures.
“Funding the Future” was the title of this panel; they provided their perspectives on various aspects of funding new ventures in the years to come, ranging from VC to private investors.
Panel Discussion:
Innovation and Licensing in an Evolving U.S. IP Environment
Panelists from left: Junaid Islam, Founder, Board Member and CTO, XQ; Jason Lott, Interim Regional Director, Western Regional Office, USPTO; Jamie Simpson, Chief Policy Officer and Counsel, C4IP; and Moderator: Sam Wiley, Managing Director, Strategic Business Intelligence Lead, Specialty Services at Ocean Tomo. Not pictured: Peter-Anthony Pappas, Director of IP Policy, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee (spoke via video chat).
This panel examined recent governmental developments impacting the U.S. patent ecosystem and their implications for innovation, patent licensing, and technology commercialization.
Fireside Chat: My Life in Semiconductors: From Texas Instruments to TSMC to Made-In-America-Again
From left: Dr. Richard Thurston, Chairman and CEO, Great Lakes Semiconductor; Retired SVP and General Counsel, TSMC; and Moderator: Joe Yang, Partner, Patentesque Law Group.
An insightful conversation between Dick Thurston and Joe Yang focused on how Thurston’s career mirrored the evolution of the semiconductor industry. While working for Texas Instruments, he moved from Houston to Tokyo, Japan, then to Taiwan. Now he’s back in the U,.S. with a new venture, Great Lakes Semiconductor, with the aim of rethinking semiconductor fabrication.
Read Efrat Kasznik’s recap of this session here: https://www.lesusacanada.org/my-life-in-semiconductors-from-texas-instruments-to-tsmc-to-made-in-america-again/
LES Silicon Valley Chapter Board
LES Silicon Valley Chapter Board 2026: Sean Clark, Michael Pierantozzi, Edgar Baum, Larry Udell, Joe Yang, Mark Holmes, Natalie Punnilathil, George Park, Efrat Kasznik and Sam Wiley. Board members not pictured: Kerry Kimes, Ken Korea, Kent Richardson, Pallavi Shah, Michael Zachary.
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