Charles has an extensive background in semiconductors and finance with 7 years experience in various engineering, marketing, and product management roles in the semiconductor industry and 13 years experience as a semiconductor equity research analyst and investment banker, and has successfully closed numerous corporate finance and M&A transactions with an aggregate value of over $5.5 billion.

Most recently, Charles was a member of Instream Partners LLC, a technology investment bank. Prior to that, he was Managing Director of Semiconductor Research for Bear Stearns, where he established the company’s equity research operation in San Francisco and was ranked in the Institutional Investor poll.

Charles was the senior semiconductor research analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, UBS, and Hambrecht & Quist. From 1986 to 1993, he worked in the semiconductor industry for Harris Semiconductor, Integrated Device Technology, and Crosspoint Solutions.

Charles received a degree in materials science from Brown University and a Ph.D. in electronic materials from M.I.T., with a minor in economics and finance at the Sloan School of Management