Dr. Sam Heidari is the CEO of Lumotive, a groundbreaking semiconductor manufacturer based in Redmond, WA. Sam holds a PhD in electrical engineering from USC and previously served as CEO of Quantenna, where he led the company through a public offering and $1 billion acquisition by ON Semiconductor.

At Lumotive, Sam is leading a team that's building award-winning programmable optical semiconductors that improve perception, increase computing power, and enable reliable high-speed communication in various industries. The Light Control Metasurface™ (LCM) is a patented, software-defined photonic beamforming solid-state technology. As the first of its kind, it meets essential needs in various sectors, including 3D sensing and AI computing.

Dr. Sam Heidari is the CEO of Lumotive, a groundbreaking semiconductor manufacturer based in Redmond, WA. Sam holds a PhD in electrical engineering from USC and previously served as CEO of Quantenna, where he led the company through a public offering and $1 billion acquisition by ON Semiconductor.
At Lumotive, Sam is leading a team that's building award-winning programmable optical semiconductors that improve perception, increase computing power, and enable reliable high-speed communication in various industries. The Light Control Metasurface&trade; (LCM) is a patented, software-defined photonic beamforming solid-state technology. As the first of its kind, it meets essential needs in various sectors, including 3D sensing and AI computing.

Shauna Swerland, CEO of Fuel Talent, launches the What Fuels You podcast, where she sits down with influential, interesting and successful leaders to learn from them. She digs into the stories and choices that made them who they are today, with the goal of sharing the inspiration, perseverance and stories of resilience that are normally only shared within an inner circle. You'll walk away feeling fueled by each episode as Shauna uncovers things like personal hardships and failures, what it’s like to become an entrepreneur and tips on building a successful career.

What Fuels You

Shauna Swerland, CEO of Fuel Talent, hosts the What Fuels You podcast, where she sits down with influential, interesting, and successful leaders from all areas of business. She digs into the stories and choices that made them who they are today, with the goal of sharing the inspiration, perseverance, and stories of resilience that are normally only shared within an inner circle. You'll walk away feeling fueled by each episode as Shauna uncovers things like personal hardships and failures, what it’s like to become an entrepreneur, and tips on building a successful career. 

Shauna Swerland, CEO of Fuel Talent, hosts the What Fuels You podcast, where she sits down with influential, interesting, and successful leaders from all areas of business. She digs into the stories and choices that made them who they are today, with the goal of sharing the inspiration, perseverance, and stories of resilience that are normally only shared within an inner circle. You'll walk away feeling fueled by each episode as Shauna uncovers things like personal hardships and failures, what it’s like to become an entrepreneur, and tips on building a successful career.

Sam Heidari - CEO of Lumotive

 Amanda Schutzbank and Deborah Benton are Co-Founders and General Partners at Willow Growth Partners. Willow is an emerging growth fund providing early capital to entrepreneurs building next-generation, values-led consumer brands.

They typically lead the first institutional round for companies generating $1-5 million in revenue, applying a disciplined approach to valuation, capitalization, and scaling for long-term success. 

Amanda Schutzbank and Deborah Benton are Co-Founders and General Partners at Willow Growth Partners. Willow is an emerging growth fund providing early capital to entrepreneurs building next-generation, values-led consumer brands.
They typically lead the first institutional round for companies generating $1-5 million in revenue, applying a disciplined approach to valuation, capitalization, and scaling for long-term success.&nbsp;

Deborah Benton and Amanda Schutzbank - Founders of Willow Growth Partners 

Evan Zhao is the Co-founder and CEO of Pacagen, using biotechnology to revolutionize consumer products. Before Pacagen, he served as Chief Science Officer at ODDITY, and previously built and sold Revela.

He earned a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, and completed work as a Schmidt Science Fellow at Harvard.

Evan Zhao is the Co-founder and CEO of Pacagen, using biotechnology to revolutionize consumer products. Before Pacagen, he served as Chief Science Officer at ODDITY, and previously built and sold Revela.
He earned a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, and completed work as a Schmidt Science Fellow at Harvard.

Evan Zhao - Co-Founder and CEO of Pacagen

Aaron Finn is the CEO of SingleFile. He  has spent over 25 years building and leading technology companies across consumer, internet, digital advertising, healthcare, and legal and compliance infrastructure.

Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at classmates.com, where he worked on customer acquisition analytics and scaling consumer platforms. He later co-founded AdReady, an automated advertising company, and led it through multiple growth phases and an eventual acquisition. Across those roles, Aaron has often been responsible for stepping into complexity and helping organizations scale responsibly. He joined SingleFile in 2021 to lead the company through its next phase of growth, with a focus on clarity, execution, and building infrastructure that works quietly and reliably in a highly regulated space.

Aaron Finn is the CEO of SingleFile. He  has spent over 25 years building and leading technology companies across consumer, internet, digital advertising, healthcare, and legal and compliance infrastructure.
Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at classmates.com, where he worked on customer acquisition analytics and scaling consumer platforms.&nbsp;He later co-founded AdReady, an automated advertising company, and led it through multiple growth phases and an eventual acquisition. Across those roles, Aaron has often been responsible for stepping into complexity and helping organizations scale responsibly. He joined SingleFile in 2021 to lead the company through its next phase of growth, with a focus on clarity, execution, and building infrastructure that works quietly and reliably in a highly regulated space.

Sam Heidari - CEO of Lumotive

What Fuels You

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