Mentor Graphics has named Serge Leef, General Manager of the System Level Engineering division, Vice President of New Ventures tasked with expanding the company’s thrust into markets adjacent to electronic design automation.

Leef’s new role builds on his experience in applying advanced system-level design automation techniques to the challenges associated with design, verification, implementation and test of heterogeneous systems frequently found in automotive, medical, aerospace and defense industries.

 Prior to joining Mentor Graphics in 1990, Leef was responsible for design automation at Silicon Graphics. Prior to 1987, he managed a CAE/CAD organization at Microchip. From 1982 to 1987, he worked at Intel.