Kateeva Names Dr. Alain Harrus as Chief Executive Officer

MENLO PARK, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 8, 2013) - Kateeva today expanded its leadership team by appointing technology executive, Alain Harrus, Ph.D. as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The Silicon Valley start-up is developing a breakthrough inkjet printing manufacturing solution to enable low-cost mass production of flexible and large-scale OLED displays.

Harrus brings nearly three decades of semiconductor industry experience to Kateeva -- first as a technologist, then a senior corporate executive, and most recently as an investor in high-growth early-stage hardware companies. He rounds out Kateeva's executive team, which also includes President and Co-Founder, Conor Madigan, Ph.D., as well as CTO and OLED technology co-inventor, Steve Van Slyke, and Executive Vice President of Product Development, Eli Vronsky.

Sigma Partners' General Partner and Kateeva Board Member, Fahri Diner, said: "Alain's technology pedigree and his expertise in guiding start-ups from R&D through commercialization make him an exceptional fit for Kateeva. We're really pleased he's chosen to help this impressive team seize the growing market opportunities for its OLED manufacturing equipment technology. It's a tribute to the exciting OLED production innovation happening at the company, not to mention the accomplishments of the team."

Kateeva President & Co-Founder, Conor Madigan, said: "We're delighted to welcome Alain. He complements our team with expertise that will help accelerate our product positioning with global customers. Under his leadership, we expect that Kateeva's novel technology will become a stalwart enabler of high-volume, low-cost OLED printing."

For Harrus, Kateeva's appeal is its capability to transform OLED manufacturing. "Like audacious breakthroughs that sparked advances in semiconductor manufacturing, Kateeva's solution could do the same for flexible and large-size OLEDs," he said. "Until now, there were no practical manufacturing technologies to cost-effectively mass-produce these OLEDs. Kateeva's inkjet manufacturing equipment solution changes that. And the enabling implications for manufacturers of flexible and large-size OLED displays are really exciting. I'm pleased to join the team that's making this happen."

Founded in 2008, Kateeva is backed by leading investors. They include: Applied Materials, DBL Investors, Madrone Capital Partners, Musea Ventures, New Science Ventures, Sigma Partners, Spark Capital, and Veeco.

About Alain Harrus, Ph.D.
Harrus joins Kateeva from Crosslink Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital company. As a Partner, he led the firm's semiconductor and energy technology investment activities.

Before turning to venture capital, Alain developed breakthrough process technologies that kept semiconductor manufacturers on track with Moore's Law -- first as a research scientist at Bell Laboratories, later as Chief Technology Officer at Novellus Systems -- now part of Lam Research. There, he championed a total copper metallization solution for advanced semiconductor manufacturing -- a disruptive move that made Novellus a category leader and helped catapult the company across the $1 billion revenue threshold.

As an investor, Alain focused on early-stage science-based hardware companies developing challenging technologies. An engaged Board member, he advised executive teams on strategic growth initiatives, particularly technology roadmap development, product and commercialization strategies, and infrastructure, as well as fund-raising, valuation and exits.

Alain holds a BS degree in Mathematics and an MS degree in Physics from the University of Paris XI at Orsay, France, as well as a Ph.D. degree in Solid State Physics from Temple University in Philadelphia.

About Kateeva
Kateeva is driving new advances in OLED production technology. The company is pioneering an inkjet printing manufacturing equipment solution that enables flexible and large-size OLEDs to be produced over large areas and in high volume -- with longer lifetimes, higher yields and lower production costs. It's the industry's first economically viable and production-worthy technique to use printing for low-cost mass-production of OLEDs. Kateeva is headquartered in Silicon Valley, maintains operations in Korea, and is backed by leading Venture Capital firms and other investors. www.kateeva.com.