Ashok Chandak, CEO and President, IESA and SEMI India
Ashok Chandak is CEO and president of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) and Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) India. With over three decades of experience across the global semiconductor and electronics industry, he has played a significant role in bringing together industry leaders, government bodies, academia, start-ups, investors and international stakeholders to strengthen India’s technology ecosystem.
In his current role, Chandak is focused on advancing India’s semiconductor and electronics manufacturing landscape while driving greater collaboration across the ecosystem. Under his stewardship, IESA and SEMI India have expanded their industry engagement, visibility and branding, while strengthening flagship platforms such as SEMICON India and the IESA Vision Summit. Chandak also serves as board member and mentor at incubation platforms such as Electropreneur Park and Sfal, while also serving as founding board member of ESSCI, board member of the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, and formerly as co-chairman of the FIDO Alliance India and chairman of IESA.
Prior to his current position, he spent nearly 15 years at NXP Semiconductors as senior director of global sales and marketing at South AP Automotive and India, where he led sales, marketing and customer application support functions across South AP and India, while serving on multiple management teams and leading a team of 25 professionals. Earlier, he was director of sales and marketing at Infineon Technologies in Singapore, managing sales and marketing operations across Asia and leading teams across China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore, India, Malaysia and Thailand. Before that, he spent nearly six years at Motorola, where he was responsible for technical sales, distribution management, demand creation and business development for semiconductor products across India.
One of Chandak’s most notable contributions has been chairing the committee responsible for developing India’s smart card operating system and standards architecture. His current areas of focus include semiconductors, artificial intelligence, automotive electronics and internet of things. He notes, “In the semiconductor era, knowledge is strategic power, talent resilience is the future, and trust is a currency valued as highly as chips.” Chandak holds a postgraduate degree in Electronics Engineering and Management from Babson College, Boston. Outside work, he enjoys travelling, action movies, card games, lawn tennis, badminton and spending time with family.
