President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Pippins has over 30 years of management experience leading business growth for Semiconductor Equipment and related companies. He founded Persimmon Technologies in 2010 with Martin Hosek to serve the next generation requirements in vacuum environment robotic solutions. Michael previously held management positions with Brooks Automation, Varian Semiconductor Equipment, ASM Ion Implant, and Leybold Heraeus. He most recently held the position of President for the ASD Division of Brooks Automation which he led the company’s automation growth from $6M to over $300M in revenues, raised over $600M in IPO and secondary offerings, negotiated, closed, and integrated 4 global acquisitions, and held board seats on joint ventures with Samsung in Korea and Yaskawa in Japan. Michael was also granted 4 patents in robotics and automation systems while serving at Brooks. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with High Honors at Southern Polytechnic State University, and Certificate of Special Studies in Business Administration at Harvard University
Executive VP and Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Hosek is a founder of Persimmon Technologies, serves on the company’s board of directors and, in his role of EVP and CTO, provides strategic direction, leads technology development and ensures new product execution across the robotics and motor businesses. Previously, Dr. Hosek was Vice President of Hardware Engineering and Technology at Brooks Automation, Chelmsford, MA, where he was responsible for technical development and continuous improvement of a broad range of products, including robotic manipulators, cryogenic solutions and control systems. Earlier in his career, he made scientific and technical contributions to the areas of vibration suppression, control design and computer assisted learning. Dr. Hosek has authored more than 40 technical publications and book contributions and holds well over 100 U.S. patents with foreign equivalents in Asia and Europe. He earned a Ph.D. degree in Dynamics and Control from the University of Connecticut followed by a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Systems from the Czech Technical University in Prague and has been inducted to UConn’s Academy of Distinguished Engineers and Hall of Fame.
VP, Sales & Service
As part of Persimmon’s senior management team since 2011, Mark is responsible for global business development and growth for Persimmon Technologies. He has over 30 years of sales and service management experience in automation and controls for semiconductor and related industries. Prior to Persimmon, Mark held the position of Vice President of Sales at Millennial Net Inc., where he was responsible for developing domestic and international sales strategies and channels for its wireless energy management products. Having spent over 18 years with Brooks Automation in multiple management roles including Director of Sales for Global OEM business, Mark helped achieve record growth in its tool automation business, including management of sales operations for its joint venture with Yaskawa in Japan. Mark received his Master of Science degree in Physics from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada following his bachelor’s degree with Honors and Distinction from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.