We have a dedicated and passionate group of leaders who not only drive our strategy and business operations, but who help to inspire our global team to think big about the possibilities of data.
CEO
Western Digital Corporation
David Goeckeler is the CEO at Western Digital and serves on the Board of Directors.
Since joining Western Digital in March 2020, Goeckeler has focused on the company’s transformation as the leading data storage producer in the industry. With more than a third of the world’s data stored on its products, Western Digital solutions power innovation from the devices we use every day, to the edge, to the foundation of the cloud. The company has extensive operations throughout the United States and Asia, with over 50,000 employees worldwide. Its brands SanDisk, SanDisk Professional, WD, WD Black, and Western Digital are widely recognized globally for innovation, performance, and quality.
Previously, he was Executive Vice President and General Manager of Cisco’s Networking and Security Business, with responsibility for more than $34 billion of the company’s global technology franchise. He led a worldwide team of more than 25,000 engineers and oversaw Cisco’s networking and security strategy and market acceleration, including development operations for the company’s expansive technology portfolio and strategic acquisitions.
Goeckeler serves on the Board of Directors and as Vice Chair of the Semiconductor Industry Association and on the Board of Directors of ADP, a comprehensive global provider of cloud-based human capital management solutions. He also serves as Vice Chair of the U.S.-Japan Business Council at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and sits on the University of Illinois College of Engineering Board of Visitors.
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Western Digital Corporation
Wissam Jabre is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Western Digital, responsible for finance, accounting, financial reporting, tax, treasury, internal audit, and investor relations. Jabre has more than 20 years of financial experience, specifically in the semiconductor industry. Most recently, he was CFO at Dialog Semiconductor. Before joining Dialog Semiconductor in 2016, Jabre served as Corporate Vice President of Finance at Advanced Micro Devices. From 2004 to 2014, Jabre also held various finance positions during his 10-year tenure at Freescale Semiconductor, including Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer, Vice President of Global Pricing, and Chief Financial Officer of the Networking & Multimedia Group. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from the American University of Beirut and an MBA from Columbia Business School, New York. Jabre is a CFA © charterholder.
Executive Vice President and Chief People & Inclusion Officer
Western Digital Corporation
Christine Bastian is Executive Vice President and Chief People & Inclusion Officer at Western Digital. In this role, she is responsible for driving a people strategy that supports the company’s vision of creating breakthrough innovation that enables the world to actualize its aspirations. To bring that people strategy to life, she oversees a number of critical functions including, global talent acquisition; people development and engagement; compensation and benefits; people analytics and digital solutions; and business and people partners. She also leads the Office of Inclusion to promote diversity and equity throughout the company’s global employee base.
As a seasoned HR leader, Bastian is respected for her expertise in organizational design, talent development, high-performance teaming and executive coaching as well as for her advocacy of full-spectrum diversity, equity and inclusion. She is passionate about people, technology and how she can contribute to do amazing things for the business, her community and our collective future.
Previously, Bastian was Senior Vice President of People & Communities at Cisco, where she led the enterprise in reimagining talent solutions that transformed the company’s approach to leaders and teams, learning and careers, performance, workforce planning, and hybrid work. With a focus on cultivating high-functioning teams, leader success, and adaptive change, she oversaw teams that drove the execution of acquisitions and divestitures and led people consulting for the company’s global engineering organization.
She is an active member of Global HR 50 and currently serves on the board of directors for the San Jose Children’s Discovery Museum. Her work has been recognized by the YWCA Silicon Valley Tribute to Women Award in 2019; by the National Diversity Council as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology in 2020; by the Silicon Valley Business Journal as a Woman of Influence in 2023; and by HR Director for leading the Best HR Team in the U.S. in 2023.
Bastian graduated from California Polytechnic State University.
Executive Vice President, Global Operations
Western Digital Corporation
Irving Tan is Executive Vice President for Global Operations at Western Digital. He is responsible for all global operations functions, including manufacturing operations, procurement and supply chain, and IT.
Widely known as an exceptional leader, Tan has decades of experience in sales and global operations, market transitions, and customer and government dynamics. His focus on people is evidenced by his track record leading high-performing teams that achieve sustained results. Most recently, he served as Cisco's Chairperson, Asia Pacific, Japan, and China, responsible for leading the company's strategy to capture the significant growth opportunity that the APJC region offered and strengthen key customer and ecosystem relationships.
During his time at Cisco, Tan also was Executive Vice President and Global Chief of Operations where he was responsible for the development and implementation of the company's operating strategy and targeted growth through productivity improvements and innovation across all core business functions, including sales, engineering, supply chain, and services. He also served as the sales leader of Cisco Asia Pacific and Japan, where he grew the sales business consistently over his tenure and advanced APJ's position as one of the most trusted IT partners and providers in the region.
Tan currently serves on SATS (Singapore Airport Terminal Services) Board of Directors. Additionally, he has served as an advisor to governments and industry partners on using technology to innovate and transform. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in business administration from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, and an honorary doctoral degree in engineering from Curtin University.
Cynthia Tregillis
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary
Western Digital Corporation
Cynthia Tregillis is the Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Western Digital. She oversees the company's worldwide legal, risk management, compliance and government relations functions. Since joining Western Digital in 2012, Tregillis has held several positions at Western Digital. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel.
In her role, Tregillis advises the company's executive leadership team and members of the company's Board of Directors. She also oversees the teams responsible for supporting the company's efforts to develop, manufacture, market and sell storage products globally through the company's independent subsidiaries. Tregillis also leads teams responsible for protecting the company's significant intellectual property, strengthening and defending the company's brands worldwide, and complying with regulatory and public company obligations.
Before joining Western Digital, Tregillis was an attorney Of Counsel at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and a Partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP and Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly LLP, where her practice focused on intellectual property and civil litigation. She was also a judicial clerk at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Tregillis sits on the Boards of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, U.S.-India Business Council, and International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition. She is also the past chair of the University of Southern California Intellectual Property Institute and a member of the Executive and Planning Committees. Tregillis is also a founding leader of the Los Angeles chapter of ChIPs, an organization focused on connecting and advancing women in technology, policy, and the law. The World Trademark Review has identified Tregillis on its WTR 300 and Global Leaders lists.
She graduated from the University of California, San Diego (Revelle College) and the University of San Francisco School of Law.
Executive Vice President and General Manager, Flash Business
Western Digital Corporation
Robert Soderbery is Executive Vice President and General Manager, Flash Business.
Prior to joining Western Digital, Soderbery served as president of UpLift, Inc., a travel finance company. Soderbery previously served as senior vice president and general manager, enterprise products, and in other senior leadership roles at Cisco Systems. He also advanced through a series of leadership roles at Symantec Corporation, including senior vice president, storage and availability management group.
Soderbery currently serves on the board of directors of Rockwell Automation, Inc, and previously served as an advisor to such board from May 2017 to February 2022. He is also a managing member of Acclimate Ventures LLC, a consulting, advisory and investment firm.
Executive Vice President and General Manager, HDD Business
Western Digital Corporation
Ashley Gorakhpurwalla is Executive Vice President and General Manager, HDD business.
Prior to joining Western Digital, Gorakhpurwalla served as president and general manager of Servers and Infrastructure Systems at Dell EMC, where he led a $20 billion business that included the company's PowerEdge Server, Hyperconverged Infrastructure and Extreme Scale Infrastructure business units, as well as research and development for its Storage and Data Protection Platform.
With almost 30 years of technology industry experience, Gorakhpurwalla advanced through a series of engineering and business leadership roles at Dell Technologies that focused on complex data center infrastructure. Prior to leading Dell EMC's Server and Infrastructure Systems Business, he served as senior vice president of the company's PowerEdge engineering team.
Gorakhpurwalla holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University - Kingsville.
Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer
Western Digital Corporation
Jerald Kagele is Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer. In this position he is responsible for managing unified customer relationships, optimizing revenue generation, and improving the customer experience. By overseeing the customer journey throughout the entire revenue lifecycle, Kagele drives go-to-market strategies, demand generation and planning, ongoing revenue operations, and product support for all Western Digital products and services.
Kagele joined Western Digital in 2009 and has spent more than 30 years in the technology industry. Before Western Digital he served as President of North America for Bell Microproducts where he was responsible for all business operations in the United States and Canada. Prior to Bell Microproducts he held executive positions at Avnet in both Europe and North America.
Principal
Alexy Capital Management
Kimberly Alexy has been a director since November 2018. Alexy is a seasoned financial services professional and brings to the board more than 25 years of experience in capital markets, corporate finance and investments. She founded Alexy Capital Management, a private investment fund, in 2005 and serves as its principal. Previously, Alexy served as a sell-side equity research analyst on Wall Street for nearly a decade, specializing in the technology and corporate finance industries at Prudential Securities, Lehman Brothers and Wachovia Bank. Alexy is a chartered financial analyst.
Chief Executive Officer
GLOBALFOUNDRIES
Dr. Thomas Caulfield has been a director since July 2021.
Caulfield is a demonstrated leader with many years of experience in the semiconductor industry, spanning engineering, management and global operational leadership, and expertise in business leadership, corporate strategy, manufacturing and marketing experience. His extensive career spans roles in engineering, management and global operations. He also brings prior public company board experience.
Prior to being named CEO of GLOBALFOUNDRIES in 2018, he was senior vice president and general manager of the company’s 300 mm semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility (Fab 8). Prior to that, Caulfield held senior executive positions at several leading technology companies including IBM and Novellus Systems, Inc.