Luc Van den hove is President & CEO of imec since July 1, 2009. Before he was executive vice president & chief operating officer. He joined imec in 1984, starting his research career in the field of silicide & interconnect technologies. In 1988, he became manager of imec’s micro-patterning group (lithography, dry etching); in 1996, department director of unit process step R&D; & in 1998, vice president of the silicon process & device technology division. In January 2007, he was appointed as imec's EVP & COO. Luc Van den hove received his PhD in electrical engineering from the KU Leuven, Belgium. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications & conference contributions.