News: Suppliers
8 September 2025
CSA Catapult appoints Rupert Baines to board as non-executive director
Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult has appointed tech entrepreneur Rupert Baines as a non-executive director, working with members of the board to support its corporate governance and to inform its long-term strategy.
Established in 2018 by government agency Innovate UK, CSA Catapult is a not-for-profit center of excellence with labs and offices across the UK that specializes in the measurement, characterization, integration and validation of compound semiconductor technology spanning power electronics, advanced packaging, radio frequency and microwave, and photonics applications.
Picture: CSA Catapult’s new non-executive director Rupert Baines.
Baines has founded several technology companies and has had three successful exits. He was CEO of UltraSoc (sold to Siemens in July 2020), CMO of Codasip, and CEO of QPT.
He is currently chair of RANsemi, chair of Cambridge Tech Week, and co-chair of the Semiconductor Expert Working Group industry body reporting to the UK Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
Baines currently serves as a mentor with Silicon Catalyst's ChipStart program, and is a Fellow at DeepTech Labs. He is also a trustee of the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF), which conducts several initiatives to encourage and support young people to study electronic engineering.
“I worked with compound semiconductors, specifically silicon germanium, early on in my career at Analog Devices and caught a first glimpse of how effective and powerful they can be,” notes Baines. “Since then, the compound semiconductor industry has grown rapidly, and the UK has developed significant strength in this area. We have a rare combination of great research and manufacturing capability with clusters around the country doing some very exciting things,” he adds.
“Rupert is an experienced and well-respected member of the UK semiconductor ecosystem who brings with him a wealth of experience from industry and business scale-up,” comments CSA Catapult’s chair Jonathan Flint.
“The global semiconductor landscape is evolving fast,” notes interim CEO Raj Gawera. “We face a challenging mix of transformative technologies such as AI coupled with geopolitical uncertainty,” he adds. “Navigating the best path for both CSA Catapult and for the wider UK semiconductor sector requires both strong experience and seasoned judgement. I’m very pleased Rupert is joining the board to strengthen the capability and help set the right direction.”
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