The Immersion Team

Mr. Victor Viegas, President and Chief Executive Officer

Viegas joined Immersion as Chief Financial Officer in 1999, was part of the team that took the company public, and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in 2002. Under Viegas’s leadership the company built a strong intellectual property portfolio with a deep and defensible position in haptics today with over 900 patents granted or pending. The company successfully defended its portfolio in two high profile cases, netting in excess of $150 M for the company. The company invested in markets and technologies organically and through several acquisitions that have become long-term growth opportunities, and Viegas steered the company to profitability in 2007. He retired in early 2008 and returned to the active leadership role in October 2009. Prior to Immersion, Viegas served as Chief Financial Officer of Macrovision Corporation, a developer and licensor of video and software copy protection technologies. From 1986 to 1996, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Balco Incorporated, a manufacturer of advanced automotive service equipment. He holds a B.S. in Accounting and an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University.

Mr. Shum Mukherjee, Chief Financial Officer

Shum Mukherjee joined Immersion as Chief Financial Officer in May of 2010. Prior to joining Immersion, Shum served as EVP and CFO of OpenTV where he managed accounting and reporting, strategic planning and analysis, treasury, tax, audit, investor relations, facilities, IT and program management. Prior to joining OpenTV, Shum served as EVP and CFO at Genus, Inc., a semiconductor equipment company then publicly-traded on NASDAQ, responsible for finance, IT and operations. Before that, he served as VP, Finance and Corporate Controller for E*Trade Group, as well as CFO for E*Trade International. In addition, Mukherjee also served in various financial roles for Raychem Corporation, including Worldwide Group Controller. Shum holds a Masters degree in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, a Masters in Mathematics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and a Bachelor's degree from St. Xavier's College, India.

Mr. Rob Lacroix, Vice President, Engineering

Rob Lacroix is responsible for all product development activities including transforming innovative proof-of-concepts into commercial solutions that meet performance and value expectations. During his tenure at Immersion, Lacroix has held a range of positions, including director of software development, Mobility Engineering program manager, and General Manager of Immersion Canada.  Before joining Immersion in 2000, he developed firmware for a number of customers that included Haptic Technologies (acquired by Immersion in 2000), the Canadian Space Agency, and other embedded systems device manufacturers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University.

Mr. Joseph LaValle, Vice President, Sales

Joe LaValle is responsible for all of Immersion’s sales and business development opportunities on a worldwide basis. LaValle has over 25 years of sales management experience with major technology companies including SiRF, Intel, Telegent Systems, Digital Equipment Corporation and 3M.  He served as Vice President of Sales at SiRF Technology and has particularly strong expertise in Asia – a key market for Immersion – having spent eight years on assignment in Hong Kong and Tokyo for Intel and Digital Equipment’s semiconductor division. He was previously Director of Asia Pacific Sales for Intel's Communications Sales Organization, General Manager of the Communications and Embedded Sales Group at Intel Japan and Director of Asia Pacific Sales for Digital Equipment. LaValle was also Vice President of Sales at Telegent Systems and held various sales and marketing management positions at 3M. He is a graduate of Wabash College.

Ms. Janice Passarello, Vice President, Human Resources

Janice Passarello joined Immersion in July 2007 and is responsible for all human resources strategies, programs, and services. Previously, she held human resources management positions at Harmonic, Microsoft, Trimble Navigation, and Quantum. She has a bachelor’s degree in social science/human resources management from California Polytechnic State University and certifications in several human resources areas.

Ms. Anne Marie Peters, Vice President, Legal

Amie Peters joined Immersion in December 2008. Previously, she was corporate associate, then corporate partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP and diagnostic manufacturing associate, then diagnostic manufacturing supervisor at Chiron Corporation. She has a bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley; an MBA from the University of California Davis Graduate School of Management; and a JD degree from the University of California Davis School of Law. Peters was admitted to the California State Bar in 1999.

Dr. Christophe Ramstein, Chief Technology Officer

As Chief Technology Officer at Immersion, Christophe Ramstein leads the company’s global research and development with a focus on haptic innovation, as well as the future of user experience and user value. Passionate about user experience and its virtually unlimited potential, Ramstein, with over 15 years experience in haptics and multimodal technology, promotes Haptics as the cornerstone of the next generation of user interfaces. During his tenure at Immersion, Ramstein has held several positions, including director of software development, vice president of Engineering, and senior vice president of Research and Engineering. Before joining Immersion in 2000, Ramstein co-founded Haptic Technologies Inc, a leading-edge award-winning haptics company, and was also the chief architect. Prior to that, Ramstein was the senior scientist at Industry Canada and created innovative user interfaces for astronauts and the visually-impaired, investigating the use of non-visual modalities, learning schemes, and artificial neural networks. Ramstein is both an author and co-author of numerous haptic patents, as well as a number of papers on haptics and multimodal user interfaces. He holds a Master’s degree from the Institute Joseph Fourier as well as a PhD in Applied Mathematics for real-time physical modeling, simulation, gesture analysis, and composition for musical creation from the Polytechnic Institute in France.

Mr. Dennis Sheehan, Vice President, Marketing

Dennis Sheehan is responsible for leading all product and corporate marketing activities including overall strategy and go-to-market activities for Immersion’s TouchSense solutions in the rapidly growing market for touch feedback-enabled products. Sheehan has a depth of experience in bringing innovative embedded technologies to market in mobile, personal computer and consumer electronics products.  He has built his career developing and collaborating with ecosystem partners in the complex consumer electronics market.   Prior to Immersion, Sheehan was Senior Director of Product Management at SiRF Technology, a leading supplier of GPS semiconductor solutions for mobile phones and personal navigation devices.  Before that, he was Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for Varatouch, an intellectual property components and software company focused on human input devices for hand-held consumer electronics. Earlier in his career, Sheehan held various senior marketing positions over twelve years at Intel. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

As Chief Commercial Officer at Immersion, Craig Vachon is responsible for all corporate development activities including strategic relationships and partnerships, joint venture opportunities, and mergers and acquisitions.  Vachon joined the company in 2008 and most recently led the Touch Business Unit.  Prior to Immersion, he held leadership positions at major mobile operators, as well as software, services, and technology licensing companies. Most recently, he was CEO and president of Varatouch Technology, an intellectual property components and software company focused on human input devices for hand-held consumer electronics. Before Varatouch, he was CEO and chairman of Sirenic, Inc., a mobile information access software company. Earlier in his career, Vachon was chief operating officer of Nextel International Japan; business development director of AT&T Wireless Services, International; vice president of sales and marketing of Birla AT&T Communications in India, and director of new product development, marketing, and sales of AT&T Wireless Services (formerly McCaw Cellular). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication and a master’s degree in Business Communication, both from Emerson College.