Deirdre Hanford (Deirdre Ryan Hanford ) is an American executive in

electronic design automation Electronic design automation (EDA), also referred to as electronic computer-aided design (ECAD), is a category of software tools for designing Electronics, electronic systems such as integrated circuits and printed circuit boards. The tools wo ...

industry. she is Chief Security Officer for

Synopsys Synopsys, Inc. is an American electronic design automation (EDA) company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that focuses on silicon design and verification, silicon intellectual property and software security and quality. Synopsys sup ...

.Deirdre Hanford Chief Security Officer, Corporate Staff
a Synopsys webpage (retrieved February 5, 2020)

Education and work

Deidre earned a B.S. in electric engineering from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

(1983) and a M.S. in electric engineering from

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

. She joined Synopsys in 1987, becoming its 8th employee. Since then she advanced via many roles."Award winner faces down design challenges"
''

EE Times ''EE Times'' (''Electronic Engineering Times'') is an electronics industry magazine published in the United States since 1972. EE Times is currently owned by AspenCore, a division of Arrow Electronics since August 2016. Ownership and status '' ...

'', 6.15.2001 In 2008 she was Chairman of the

American Electronics Association The AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association) was a nationwide non-profit trade association that represented all segments of the technology industry. It lobbied governments at the state, federal, and international levels; provided acces ...

. She was named founding CEO of Natcast in January 2024. Prior to that, she was an inaugural member of the Industrial Advisory Committee created by the CHIPS Act.

Awards and recognition

*2001:

Marie Pistilli Award The Marie R. Pistilli Women in Engineering Achievement Award is issued annually since 2000 by the Design Automation Conference (DAC) to honor the outstanding achievements of women in Electronic Design Automation. It is named after the co-founder of ...

- “Deirdre was chosen for this award because of her pioneering leadership and dedicated commitment to serving the design community” ( Mar Hershenson, chair of the Workshop for Women in Design Automation) *2001:

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

Tribute to Women and Industry (TWIN) Award *1983: Domenoco A. Iolanta Award from Brown University for her senior year team research project Focus on:Leadership
Industry Newsletter - School of Engineering - Brown University, p. 4

Personal

Deirdre has three sons. She praises Synopsys for the company's supportive attitude towards women. Her first three promotions coincided with her pregnancies. Deidre is quoted as saying, "Synopsys didn't mommy-track me when I started a family".
''Silicon Valley Business Journal'', May 14, 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanford, Deirdre Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Electronic design automation people Brown University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Electronic engineering award winners