Event: Do's and Don'ts of Start-ups in 2003

Host: NATEA SIG - Entrepreneurship

Time: 8/14/03 (Thursday) 6:30 PM

Place: Formosan Restaurant
1655 S. De Anza Blvd. (at Prospect), Cupertino, CA
Tel: (408) 257-1120

Fee: NATEA member $15, Non-member $20

Speakers: Dr. Sheau Chen and Robert Cochran

Dr. Sheau-Sheng Chen, CEO of WaveSplitter will talk about his experience on high-tech start-up and company transformation.  Corporation lawyer Robert Cochran will address some of the most updated legal strategies in starting up a high-tech company, especially the ones which involve operation or financial arrangement in Asian countries. There will be lots of time for questions and answers in an informal setting. 

 

 

Sheau-Sheng Chen, Ph.D.

 

CEO and President, WaveSplitter, sheau_chen@wavesplitter.com

 

Dr. Sheau Chen is a native Taiwanese, born in Taipei in 1955. He received his BS. Degree from National Tsing-Hua University, which is one of the two major national universities located in Hsin-Chu area.

 

Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Texas A&M University. On completing his studies, he joined Intel, working on multi-level metallization development. Later, he joined the sub-micron technology development group, working on metallization systems for sub-micron devices.  Dr. Chen joined XMR in November 1988.  He pioneers the research in many excimer laser process development works, including metal recrystallization, metal reflow for submicron semiconductor device development, laser crystallization of a-Si for poly-Si TFT development in SRAM and flat panel display applications.  Dr. Chen led the management buyout of XMR from Amoco, and he has been the Chairman of XMR since its acquisition in December 1991.

 

Dr. Chen founded WaveSplitter in 1997. WaveSplitter designs, develops and manufactures fiber optic components. The company sells these components, based upon proprietary technologies, into a variety of applications, including CATV, local area networks (LANs), optical fiber amplifiers, high speed short-haul and long-haul telecommunications, as well as other fiber optic communications systems.  Dr. Chen is currently the president and CEO of WaveSplitter.

 

 

Robert D. Cochran

Law Office of Robert D. Cochran, Principal, Woodside, California, 1995 to present.

Mr. Cochran serves as primary, outside corporate and securities counsel for emerging growth corporations in high-technology areas, and as transactional securities counsel to venture capital funds.  His highly transactional practice emphasizes venture capital financing, equity compensation planning, mergers and acquisitions, and structuring major contracts and securities issuances to prepare for prospective firmly underwritten initial public offerings ("IPO").  Over his career of approximately 20 years, Mr. Cochran has guided start-up corporate clients in securing a cumulative aggregate of over US$1,000,000,000 in private equity financing.

Prior start-up clients that have achieved major liquidity events in the past few years include, among others: Oplink Communications, Inc. (IPO, NASDAQ, OPLK); Alliance Fiber Optic Products, Inc. (IPO, AFOP); PC-Tel, Inc. (IPO, PCTI); Newave Semiconductor Corp. (sold to IDTI); Internet Image, Inc. (sold to ITRA); Stream Machine (sold to CRUS); Printroom.com (sold to LEXR); Impala Linear Corporation (sold to FSC)

Mr. Cochran is also a leading expert regarding US / Asia cross-border acquisitions, particularly with respect to Taiwan. In 1989, Mr. Cochran established international legal precedent completing the first-ever tax-free US / Taiwan corporate flip for Mosel-Vitelic, Inc., now publicly listed on the Taiwan stock exchange with a multi-billion dollar market capitalization.  Primax Electronics, Inc. and Myson Technology, Inc. also successfully became publicly listed in Taiwan after successful international acquisition or reorganization transactions conducted with Mr. Cochran's guidance.

Education:

Harvard Law School, J.D., 1983
Harvard College, B.A. (Economics), 1979
.