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Effective boards do not just happen; they are intentionally built. This SVDX in-person session explores the critical role of the Chairman in shifting a group of individual directors into a unified, high-performing governing team. Attendees will discover practical leadership strategies to foster deeper collaboration, manage diverse dynamics, and align individual expertise around shared strategic goals.
Craig Barratt
Craig Barratt is Chairman of the Board of Directors at Intel. Barratt is a veteran technology executive with more than three decades of experience across major companies such as Qualcomm, Intel and Google. He joined Intel’s board of directors as an independent director in November 2025. He joined Intel as senior vice president and general manager following the company’s acquisition of Barefoot Networks, where he had served as CEO. Before that, Barratt worked at Google for nearly four years. He also served as president of Qualcomm Atheros and CEO of Atheros Communications, a company known for its early innovations in wireless semiconductor technology. In addition to his work with Intel, Barratt currently sits on the boards of Intuitive Surgical, Astera Labs, Ayar Labs and Atmosic Technologies. He previously served on the boards of Calysta and IonQ.
Karen C. Francis
Karen C. Francis is a seasoned board chair and director with over 25 years of experience in leading and growing companies across various industries. She is a certified board leadership fellow by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and holds a CERT certificate in cyber-risk oversight from Carnegie Mellon University. She also has an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College, where she served as a trustee for nine years. As the chair of the board of directors at Vontier, a global industrial technology company focused on smarter transportation and mobility, Karen guides the strategic direction and governance of the organization, which has over 8500 team members and close to $3 billion in revenue. She also serves on the board of directors of several other companies, including Polestar, CelLink and NAUTO, where she leverages her deep domain knowledge and expertise in the automotive and advertising sectors. She is passionate about embracing the opportunities that technology disruption is creating globally and driving innovation and growth for her companies and stakeholders. Karen is the Founder and Partner of the Chairs Circle, and President and Owner of Limerick Lane Cellars.
Chuck Robel
Chuck Robel is the retired Chairman of the Board of GoDaddy. Previously he was the Chairman of the Board of McAfee Inc. prior to its approximately $8 billion acquisition by Intel. In addition, he was the Lead Director of Informatica, Inc., the largest independent data integration company prior to its acquisition by the Permira private equity group for $5.5 billion in 2015. He was Chairman of the Audit Committee of Blue Coat, and Lead Director for AppDynamics during both its IPO listing process and subsequent $3.7 billion sale to Cisco. Previously he had served as a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee at Palo Alto Networks, Borland, Adaptec, Jive Software, Model N and DemandTec.
Mark Lonergan, moderator
Mark Lonergan is the Founder and Chairman of Lonergan Partners. He specializes in CEO and Board placements for industry-leading technology companies. Mark conducted over 500 technology company CEO, Board, and senior executive assignments.