Santa Clara University

Congratulations 2008 Founders Award Recipients

Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Leavey School of Business Announces 2008 Founders Award Recipients

Robert E. Goff and Brad Mattson

Silicon Valley veterans Robert E. Goff and Brad Mattson have been named as the 2008 Founders Award recipients by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at Santa Clara University. The annual award recognizes significant contributions by Santa Clara University alumni whose innovation and entrepreneurship have advanced the region’s business community and the ideal of enterprise for the common good. The awards will be presented at the CIE Founders Club Banquet on Thursday, October 16, 2008.

Biographies:

Robert Goff

Robert Goff blends management of high technology growth companies and technology commercialization with venture capital investment. He has more than 30 years of marketing and senior executive experience in forming, building and managing rapid, profitable growth, having brought three semiconductor product companies from laboratory to industry leadership.

A resident of Nevada, he is the founder and chairman of the Sierra Angels which provides venture capital to early stage technology companies in the region, and serves on a number of boards as well. Mr. Goff is a passionate advocate for collaboration among complementary organizations to achieve accelerated progress throughout the Sierra Nevada region. He recently co-founded and serves as vice-chairman of the Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization (NIREC), which applies entrepreneurial techniques to its bi-state research university partners’ technology projects.

In 2002, Mr. Goff was inducted into Nevada’s High Tech Hall of Fame, and was recently honored by the Angel Capital Association as the inaugural recipient of the Hans Severiens Award, nationally recognizing leadership in the advancement of angel capital investing. He is a contributing author of Cutting-Edge Practices in American Angel Investing. Mr. Goff earned his MBA from Santa Clara University (with membership in Beta Gamma Sigma honor society) and has completed additional executive education at Stanford University.

Brad Mattson

Brad Mattson is a well known executive and entrepreneur in the semiconductor equipment industry, and, in 2005, joined such luminaries as Gordon Moore, Jim Morgan, and IC inventor Jack Kilby as one of the Top 50 Most Influential People in the semiconductor industry.

Currently retired from active management, Mr. Mattson was recently chairman of Zoom (2007), and chairman of the board of Tegal Corporation (2004-2006). He was founder, CEO and chairman of Mattson Technology from 1989-2001. Prior to starting Mattson Technology, he was founder, CEO, and chairman at Novellus Systems where he developed and introduced the Concept One system which launched the company. He previously held various management, marketing, and technical positions at Applied Material and LFE Corporation.

Mr. Mattson holds MBA from Santa Clara University and a BS in aeronautics from San Jose State University. An emeritus member of the Board of Regents of Santa Clara University, he serves on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Science, Technology and Society. He was honored as the Entrepreneur of the Year in 1988, and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from San Jose State University. He also holds 12 patents in various semiconductor equipment and process related areas.