The FPGA landscape is changing constantly with ongoing developments and technological advancements from the vendors and EDA software companies. Many leading FPGA vendors are providing their own design synthesis software, however, that compete with EDA tools. The FPGA designer must now choose between the vendor "freeware" or the EDA tools that may offer more robust features and capabilities. There has to be an optimal solution between the FPGA vendor and EDA tool developer, which must benefit the FPGA designer overall.

This executive panel will the discuss key trends and insights seen by this esteemed panel of business leaders, including vendor independence, tool interoperability, the next generation of technology development for the FPGA market, and other drivers in the industry. This panel should provide lively discussions from the perspectives of both EDA and FPGA vendors — and comments from an industry analyst and editor — as well as time for audience questions.

Kevin Morris Journal Editor FPGA

Simon Bloch General Manager, Design and Synthesis Division Mentor Graphics

Mr. Bloch is responsible for design and synthesis products for HDL and ESL. Prior to Mentor he held senior management positions at Aristo Technology, Compass Design, VLSI Technology, and Daisy Systems, working on IC design technologies in the front end and physical flows. Prior to EDA he designed ASICs and systems in telecommunication applications. Bloch has a B.S.E.E. from Tel Aviv University in microelectronics, computers, and medical engineering.

Misha Burich Senior Vice President, Research and Development Altera

Dr. Burich joined Altera in December 2000 as senior vice president of software engineering, and in 2004 he also assumed the responsibility for system engineering. He currently manages R&D for all new FPGA architectures, software products, embedded processors, intellectual property libraries, and system solutions. Prior to joining Altera, Dr. Burich served as vice president of R&D at various EDA companies, including Cadence Design Systems, Mentor Graphics, Silicon Compiler Systems, and Silicon Design Labs, which he co-founded in 1984. Dr. Burich began his career at Bell Laboratories in 1978.

Andrew Dauman Senior Vice President, Worldwide Engineering Synplicity

Mr. Dauman oversees the company's global engineering team, including applications engineering, to ensure new and existing products are developed and released on time and with continuous quality improvements. He also participates in setting the company's strategic direction. Mr. Dauman previously worked as a CPU designer at Prime Computer, Inc. and Raytheon Company and was a member of the AutoLogic ASIC synthesis team at Mentor Graphics Corporation. He holds a B.S.E.E. from Boston University.

Bruce Talley Vice President and General Manager, Design Software Xilinx

Mr. Talley is responsible for all product development and business activities for Xilinx Integrated Software Environment (ISE) design tools. He joined Xilinx in 1995 and has served in a variety of senior director positions. Prior to Xilinx, Mr. Talley was senior director of FPGA software development at NeoCAD and lead developer for simulation solutions at Cadnetix. He earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Colorado, Boulder.