The ýƵ Board of Trustees has elected David R. Shepard ’83 to serve as Chair of the leadership group responsible for the stewarding the development of strategic initiatives at ýƵ, ensuring the fiscal and operational health of the institution and working collaboratively with President Laurie Carter and other university administrators in charting a course for the future of ýƵ.
David R. Shepard ’83
Shepard has served as a member of the ýƵ Board of Trustees since July 2023. He assumed his role as Board Chair on July 1, 2025.
“We are delighted to welcome Dave Shepard as our new Board Chair,” said ýƵ president Laurie A. Carter. “His knowledge and leadership during his tenure on the Board and the President’s Advisory Council have proven invaluable and we look forward to collaborating with the Board under his leadership as we embark on a new era of institutional growth and strategic development.”
Shepard is chief operating officer and board member of Marki Microwave, an RF semiconductor and component company. He has served in the semiconductor industry for his entire 37-year career, including more than 20 years in executive leadership positions.
Shepard began his professional career at Texas Instruments, where he served for nearly 20 years. He went on to become president and CEO of Sequoia Communications, a startup developing RF transceivers for mobile handsets. He subsequently held senior leadership positions at Peregrine Semiconductor and Integrated Device Technology. He joined Marki Microwave as chief operating officer in 2019.
An Appleton native now living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Shepard received a bachelor’s degree in physics from ýƵ, after transferring as a junior from Middlebury College. He earned his M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Shepard serves as board president for a nonprofit organization that rehabilitates injured wildlife and educates K-12 students on wildlife conservation. He also serves on the boards of several tech startups. Prior to joining ýƵ’s Board of Trustees, Shepard served on the President’s Advisory Council for more than six years, including more than four years as co-chair.
