Leigh Gawne Gawne

Leigh Gawne is the Vice President, R&D, Digital Industries at Renesas, where he leads research and development efforts to drive digital transformation and innovation across industrial and semiconductor technology solutions. In this role, he focuses on advancing Renesas’ capabilities in digital industries and helping customers accelerate the adoption of modern, connected systems. Prior to his position at Renesas, Leigh served as Chief Technology Officer at Altium, a global leader in electronics design software, where he helped define platform strategy and executed the evolution of cloud-based engineering solutions. He co-founded Ciiva, leading it as CEO before its acquisition by Altium, and has extensive leadership experience across embedded computing and software engineering. With a strong foundation in electronic engineering and systems development, Leigh has spent more than two decades at the intersection of hardware and software innovation. He previously led technical teams at Toradex AG as Chief Technology Officer and guided product engineering priorities that delivered scalable, real-world solutions. Leigh holds a Bachelor of Electronic Engineering, First Class Honors from The University of Manchester, reflecting his long-standing commitment to technical excellence and industry advancement.