The siXis management team comprises seasoned executives, with over 100 years of combined experience with both established industry-leading companies and high-tech start-up ventures.
John Goehrke, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Goehrke brings over 25 years of sales, marketing, and general management experience to siXis. Most recently, as COO of Luna Innovations, he was part of the executive management team that successfully completed an Initial Public Offering of the company in June, 2006. Previous to Luna Innovations, Mr. Goehrke was CEO of Luna Technologies, a VC funded start-up, where he led the company to profitability and a successful exit in the form of an acquisition. Before joining Luna, Mr. Goehrke was the General Manager of Acterna’s Access Division, based in Germantown, MD. Prior to that he was the General Manager of Acterna’s Fiber Optics Division based in St. Etienne, France. Mr. Goehrke began his career in sales and marketing for American Photonics, a VC funded start-up which was successfully sold to Siecor Fiberlan. He earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.
David Blaker, Vice President of Engineering
Mr. Blaker has over 29 years of embedded systems development and marketing experience. He managed the medical products business unit at Luna Innovations, bringing the EDAC™ open-heart surgery blood monitor to the market with FDA 510(k) clearance in just over 2 years. He has also held engineering management positions at Nokia, AT&T Microelectronics, Volumetrics Medical Imaging and NetOctave. Mr. Blaker received an award from AT&T for developing the Error-Correction Co-Processor for AT&T Microelectronics, a product used in digital cellular basestations around the world. He developed the world's first real-time 3-dimensional image processor for medical ultrasound imaging. His experience includes full custom, ASIC and FPGA design, as well as DSP and system design. Mr. Blaker holds 17 U.S. patents in the fields of digital communications, network security and medical imaging. His academic background includes a BSEE from MIT, an MSEE from Lehigh University and completion of industry technical and management training programs.
Joe Hee, Vice President of Business Development
Mr. Hee joined siXis in July 2008 as VP of Business Development and is responsible for all sales and marketing functions in this role. Mr. Hee has more than twenty years of experience in the Electronic Data Automation and semiconductor industries. Prior to joining siXis, he spent ten years at Synplicity in various sales management roles while consistently over-achieving plan as the company grew from $5M to $63M, including an October 2000 IPO. In his last assignment, Mr. Hee served as Synplicity’s Director of Eastern Area Sales. Before Synplicity, he held various sales and sales management positions at Synopsys as the company grew from $40M to $700M, including a February 1992 IPO. Prior to Synopsys, Mr. Hee held various geographic sales management roles at LSI Logic and Texas Instruments. Mr. Hee holds a BSEE from Drexel University and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Mark Motamen, Controller
Mr. Motamen joined siXis to oversee all aspects of finance, administration, and human resources. He has over 16 years of experience in accounting and finance. Prior to joining siXis, Mr. Motamen spent ten years with IBM in various accounting and finance positions in the Corporate Accounting group. Before IBM, he worked for six years as the accounting and IT manager for Environmental Resource Center. Mr. Motamen is a Certified Management Accountant and a Certified Financial Manager and holds Bachelor’s degrees in both Accounting and Business Management from North Carolina State University as well as a Master’s degree in accounting from the College of Management at North Carolina State University.
