Howard Rupprecht

Howard has been involved in electronics manufacturing for over 35 years, starting as a process engineer, working on automotive electronics. He subsequently pursued a successful career in international sales, product marketing and business development, primarily supplying production equipment to the electronics industry, culminating in 10 years living and working in Silicon Valley.

Howard subsequently worked as Vice President of Business development at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, focusing on technology commercialization, supporting the creation of new spin-out companies, IPR licensing and contract research services. He continued to run the VTT MEMSfab subsidiary company and was responsible for operations at the Micronova semiconductor fab – the largest R&D fab in Northern Europe, an open-access fab which specialized in MEMS, photonics and nano-electronic fabrication.

Returning to the UK in 2020, Howard worked as director of operations strategy at Rockley Photonics in Newport, building supply chain capabilities with multiple semiconductor foundry service providers. In 2024, he was appointed managing director of CSconnected Limited, with a brief to support company growth within the South Wales Compound Semiconductor Cluster.

Howard qualified originally as a mechanical engineer but also has a degree in business administration. He brings a combination of broad technical know-how and senior management expertise, gained internationally within both private and public sector organizations.