Technology >> CEO Interviews >> March 8, 2004
DR. MICHAEL A. RUSSAK is President and Chief Technical Officer of Komag,
Incorporated. Dr. Russak joined Komag in October 2000, after the merger
with HMT Technology Corporation, as President and Chief Technical
Officer. He provides leadership on Komag's business and technical
direction. Since 1993, Dr. Russak held the position of Vice President of
R&D at HMT. From 1985 to 1992, Dr. Russak worked at the Research
Division of the IBM Corporation. He began as a research staff member and
progressed through several management positions, ending up at IBM's
Storage Products Division. Prior to IBM, he worked at the Grumman
Aerospace Corporation as a contributing scientist on a variety of
material science related projects including the re-entry heat shield for
NASA's space shuttle. He has published over 90 technical papers and
holds 22 patents. He is also a member of the IDEMA Board of Directors.
Dr. Russak holds a BS in Ceramic Engineering and a PhD in Materials
Science from Rutgers University. Profile
TWST: Please start with a brief historical sketch of the company, and apicture of things as they are now.
Dr. Russak: Komag is the largest independent manufacturer of hard disks
used in hard