As Silvaco's new Chief Financial Officer, Chris Zegarelli prioritizes transparent communication, stating he wants to "ensure we deliver our message and set proper expectations, and then the business starts to deliver" on its promised goals.

Before joining this semiconductor design provider last month, the company had missed analyst expectations for several consecutive quarters. Now, the new finance chief from Broadcom is seeking to rebuild trust and regain lost ground. "Improving market sentiment, making the business more predictable and easier to understand, is a key focus of mine," Zegarelli said in an interview with CFO Dive.

The Santa Clara, California-based company has faced significant financial headwinds this year. Second-quarter revenue fell 19% year-over-year to $12 million, marking the second consecutive quarter of revenue decline, according to its August 6 earnings report. However, the company's GAAP net loss narrowed to $9.4 million for the quarter, compared to a net loss of $38.4 million in the same period last year.

Demonstrating tangible progress

Zegarelli said one of his primary areas of focus in his new role is building trust, both with investors and with the company's board and other leaders. Although the business has underperformed in recent quarters, "there is an opportunity to turn things around," he said.

He acknowledged this will take time, noting that some of the changes will include reaching out to more analysts, "being transparent, responding to questions, and then meeting with more and more investors, telling our story, and getting more people to understand what we are trying to accomplish here," he said. "Frankly, the most important thing you can do is demonstrate tangible progress in executing your plan. Words can only do so much, so you have to deliver results and show them."

Zegarelli is the latest in a series of executive changes at the company in recent months. In August, Silvaco announced that board member Walden Rhines would take over as CEO, succeeding outgoing Babak Taheri, according to a press release at the time. The company also appointed three new vice presidents in August, announced alongside its earnings.

Zegarelli previously served as Senior Vice President of Finance at Infineon Technologies for two years before joining Silvaco Group, bringing a deep semiconductor industry background to the CFO role. According to his LinkedIn profile, his experience includes roles as a senior financial analyst at Intel Corporation, a manager at Qualcomm, and various finance positions during a nine-year tenure at Broadcom, including Senior Director of Finance (FP&A).

As CFO, "I like to roll up my sleeves and help make things better, so I tend to view myself more on the operational and strategic side of the CFO role," Zegarelli said of his approach. He credits his diverse past experiences with shaping this approach and skill set; for example, Broadcom's "business operations are very flat, so as a finance person, you truly own the P&L from top to bottom," and you can be involved in pricing, customer strategy, and forecasting, he said.

"I enjoy having a broader view of the business and truly being a business partner to the business leaders I support," Zegarelli said.

As Silvaco's CFO, Zegarelli will receive an annual base salary of $450,000 and is eligible for a $400,000 signing bonus, payable in two installments, according to the securities filing announcing his appointment. The first installment of $200,000 will be paid within 30 days of his assuming the CFO role, and the second installment will be paid "upon the Company achieving 100% or more of its fiscal year 2026 annual operating plan revenue and profit targets, provided he remains in good standing through December 31, 2026," according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Removing operational obstacles

In seeking to make the business more predictable, Zegarelli is also considering how to structure the finance function to better support Silvaco's needs. While the accounting side is well-staffed, the finance side is "a bit lean," he said.

One of his future plans is to strengthen the finance side, "ensuring we can partner well with the business, providing better forecasting tools, ROI tools... truly having a seat at the decision-making table to help ensure we are directing investments in the right way," he said.

He also wants to ensure the business operations side runs smoothly, Zegarelli said.

"The company has made a number of acquisitions over the past year and a half, and ensuring they are well integrated, that the new team structures make sense, and that we are truly deriving value from these deals is a key focus of mine," he said. "Because we really need to drive revenue growth in the business, and it's important to make sure we are prepared for that."

In August, the company completed its acquisition of Mixel Group Inc., a semiconductor IP solutions provider, which is "fairly significant" from a headcount perspective, Zegarelli said.

As a result, he is working with key company leaders to "establish the right metrics." This includes achieving the "right" revenue mix, examining the size of different teams, and ensuring "critical mass on the development side," he said.