The Computer History Museum (CHM), the world's leading institution exploring the history of technology and its ongoing impact on society, today announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Trustees: Larry Sonsini, Chairman of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR), and Paul Gray, Emeritus Professor of the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Department (EECS).
Sonsini and Gray join the board as the Museum prepares to unveil a major expansion of its exhibition and education capacity and launch long-term initiatives in software and in entrepreneurship and innovation.
”Larry and Paul bring wonderful experience to the Board of Trustees and their own personal rich histories as leading figures in Silicon Valley and the field of computing,” said John Hollar, CHM's president and chief executive officer. “We are delighted to welcome them and are looking forward to working with them as we continue to build CHM into a major international institution.”
Sonsini has gained international recognition for his legal expertise in corporate finance, IPOs, governance, mergers and acquisitions. As the long standing Chairman of WSGR, Sonsini has represented some of Silicon Valley's most influential tech giants, including Apple, Netscape, Tesla, HP, Google, Netflix and Salesforce.com.
Throughout his corporate legal career, Sonsini has advised founders and executives of well-known companies at the heart of Silicon Valley that are driving the technology revolution. Sonsini has been closely involved with semiconductor firms (LSI Logic, Cypress Semiconductor and Xilinx), hardware companies (Apple Computer, Sun Microsystems, Seagate Technologies and Arista Networks), software firms (Novell, F5 Networks, Sybase, Tibco and Salesforce.com) and Internet companies (Google, Netflix, Netscape).
Sonsini served as chairman of the New York Stock Exchange's Commission on Corporate Governance, which was formed in 2009 and issued its final report in fall 2010. He was a member of the NYSE's Proxy Working Group and served as a member of the NYSE's board of directors from 2001 to 2003. He also served as chairman of the NYSE's Regulation, Enforcement and Listing Standards Committee until 2008, and previously was a member of the NYSE's Legal Advisory Committee and the NYSE Committee for Review.
Gray has made considerable accomplishments in the field of engineering. He is known throughout the semiconductor sector for his work in the design of analog and integrated circuits. Gray joined the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) at the University of California, Berkeley in 1971, where he is now professor emeritus.
Prior to joining U.C. Berkeley, he was with the Research and Development Laboratory at Fairchild Semiconductor (1969-1971) in Palo Alto, California. He is the co-author of a widely used college textbook on analog integrated circuit design.
Gray is a member and former Councilor of the National Academy of Engineering, and serves on several corporate boards. He is currently a member of the board of trustees and Interim President of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, is a nonprofit organization with a four-decade history as the world's leading institution exploring the history of computing and its ongoing impact on society. The Museum is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of computer history, and is home to the largest international collection of computing artifacts in the world, encompassing computer hardware, software, documentation, ephemera, photographs and moving images.
The Museum brings computer history to life through large-scale exhibits, an acclaimed speaker series, a dynamic website, docent-led tours and an award-winning education program. The Museum's signature exhibition is “Revolution: The First 2000 Years of Computing,” described by USA Today as “the Valley's answer to the Smithsonian.” Other current exhibits include “IBM 1401 and PDP-1 Demo Labs” and “Where To? A History of Autonomous Vehicles.”
For more information and updates, call (650) 810-1059, visit www.computerhistory.org, check us out on Facebook, follow @computerhistory on Twitter and the Museum blog @CHM.
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