Leadership
Dave Dutton, Chief Executive Officer
David L. Dutton serves as MDC’s CEO and is responsible for the leadership, vision and execution of the company. Prior to joining MDC, Dave was Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for EDA software company Silvaco.
From 2001 to 2013, Dave served as President, CEO and board director of Mattson Technology, a publicly traded semiconductor equipment manufacturer. Throughout his 36-year career, Dave has held various management and engineering positions at leading Silicon Valley high-tech companies, including Intel and Maxim Integrated Products.
Dave has served on the Electronic System Design Alliance governing board, the Bay Area Council and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Dave holds a bachelor of science degree geology from San Jose State University (San Jose, CA) and an executive MBA from the AEA/Stanford Executive Institute (Palo Alto, CA).
Paul Downey, Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Paul Downey oversees finance, accounting, treasury and information technology. Prior to joining MDC, Paul was CFO at several private and private equity-owned aerospace and industrial products companies.
Paul worked with automotive and aerospace giant TRW Inc. for nearly 20 years and is a graduate of TRW’s Financial Executive Development Program. He holds a bachelor of science degree from the Boler School of Business at John Carroll University (University Heights, OH), an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan) and has completed several executive education programs. Paul has also been an associate professor in finance and accounting at the University of the Virgin Islands (St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) while successfully setting up an offshore subsidiary of TRW Inc.
Declan O'Connor, Chief Operating Officer
As Chief Operating Officer, Declan O’Connor drives operational strategy and oversees the development and implementation of efficient operations and cost-effective systems throughout the company’s worldwide locations. Formerly MDC's Vice President of Global Operations, he maintains oversight responsibility for global operations, manufacturing, engineering, supply chain management, design for manufacturability (DFM) and continuous improvement.
Declan has held various IT, project management and leadership roles in high tech and private, contract manufacturing companies including Cisco Systems and Elantec Semiconductor. Declan received an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University (Rotterdam, Netherlands) and holds master's degrees in manufacturing engineering and law from Queen’s University (Belfast, Ireland).
Erick Forbes, VP, Semiconductor Business
Erick Forbes is Vice President of MDC's Semiconductor Business and is responsible for developing and deploying sales strategies that generate new business and expands MDC's opportunities and market share position in the semiconductor vertical.
Since beginning his career at MDC in 2001, Erick has held various technical and sales-related management positions, including Director of Sales for the Gas Delivery Products Division, and was most recently Vice President of Global Sales. In 2006, Erick took a sabbatical to start a successful technology company in New York City but returned six years later to his true passion: the semiconductor industry. Erick holds a bachelor's degree in 3D modeling and graphic Design from Expression College and is currently pursuing an Executive MBA Program at the MIT Sloan School of Management (Cambridge, Massachusetts).
Don Moore, VP, Global Sales & Technology
Don Moore serves as Vice President of Global Sales and directs MDC's worldwide sales efforts, strategic partnerships and business direction for MDC’s aerospace, research and industrial market verticals. Formerly Vice President of Strategic Growth and Development, Don maintains responsibility for MDC’s long-term technology roadmaps and strategies, including global innovation initiatives and emerging technologies programs.
Don has over 35 years of experience in design and manufacturing of hermetic ceramic to metal assemblies and chamber weldments. He has held various engineering, manufacturing and operations positions in aerospace, defense, life sciences, medical, nuclear and vacuum technology companies, including CeramTec and Monsanto Research Company. Don holds a bachelor of science degree in Ceramic/Materials Engineering from Ohio State University (Columbus, OH).
Lauren Vu, VP, Strategic Marketing & e-Commerce
As Vice President of Strategic Marketing and e-Commerce, Lauren directs the development of long-term integrated marketing strategies that maximize MDC’s competitive strengths and positive differentiation to deliver consistently better value to customers. In addition to overseeing MDC’s global branding, corporate communications, and digital/social media marketing, Lauren is also responsible for driving the growth of MDC’s catalog and e-commerce businesses.
Prior to joining MDC, Lauren worked as a strategic marketing consultant for various high tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and last served as the Chief Business Officer and co-founder for e-commerce start up MOQller. She was previously Mattson Technology's Director of Corporate Marketing and has held various marketing communications, public relations and project management positions for computer networking and semiconductor equipment companies including Brocade Communications and STEAG RTP Systems. Lauren holds a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration, Marketing from San Jose State University (San Jose, CA).
Heidi Richardson, Director, Global Quality
Heidi Richardson serves as the Director of Global Quality and leads MDC’s worldwide quality team to deliver the highest quality products and services to customers. She is responsible for the development and implementation of a quality management system (QMS) with best practices and stringent standards to drive product design and manufacturing process quality improvements across MDC’s global operations.
Heidi joined MDC in 2016 and last served as Supply Chain Director, developing systems and controls to support the company’s growing supplier network. Her dedicated work on continuous process improvements led to her transition into her current role, where she works closely with engineers and six sigma certified black belt. Heidi holds a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering from California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo, CA).
Kristi Johnson, Director, Global Human Resources
As the Director of Global Human Resources, Kristi is passionate about strengthening employee engagement and relations, cultivating a collaborative, diverse work culture and building an extraordinary workforce across MDC’s sites worldwide. She is responsible for the development of competitive compensation and benefits strategy and processes (including salary banding, annual calibration, total rewards/recognition, and titling framework) that attract, acquire and retain top talent.
With over 20 years of HR experience, Kristi has held various human resources and payroll management positions at companies including recycling machinery and equipment company Boretech Resource Recovery Engineering.