LEADERSHIP TEAM

Jeff Benck

President and Chief Executive Officer

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Jeff Benck is President and Chief Executive Officer of Benchmark, a global provider of engineering design and manufacturing services that positively impact lives by helping solve complex challenges with our customers, creating innovative products that no one imagined were possible.

Jeff assumed the role of President and CEO in February 2019 and is responsible for driving the company’s strategic direction and growth plans to redefine Benchmark’s position in the industry. Since joining, he has helped refocus the company on its core strengths and guided the company through several strategic investments to help its customers navigate the most complex technology challenges with a socially responsible approach, serving them through the entire product development lifecycle as a trusted partner.

Prior to joining Benchmark, Jeff served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Lantronix a global provider of secure data access and management solutions for Internet of Things (IoT) and information technology (IT) assets. Prior to Lantronix, Jeff served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Emulex Corporation, a global supplier of advanced networking, monitoring, and management solutions from July 2013 until Emulex was acquired by Avago Technologies in May 2015. He joined Emulex in May 2008 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and was subsequently appointed to President and Chief Operating Officer in August 2010. Prior to joining Emulex, Jeff was President and Chief Operating Officer of QLogic Corporation, a supplier of storage networking solutions. Earlier, he spent 18 years at IBM Corporation where he held a variety of executive leadership roles, including serving as Vice President of xSeries, BladeCenter, and Retail Store Solutions development.

Jeff holds a Master of Science degree in management of technology from University of Miami and a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology. He is also a distinguished inventor in the computer systems field and holds six U.S. patents.

Roop Lakkaraju

EVP, Chief Financial Officer

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Roop Lakkaraju serves as Benchmark’s Chief Financial Officer and has more than 25 years of management experience in overall financial strategy including treasury, financial planning and analysis, cost management, capital allocation, and balance sheet optimization.

Before joining Benchmark, Roop was Chief Financial Officer at privately held Maana, a software company that has pioneered an artificial intelligence-driven knowledge platform. Prior to that, he has been Chief Operating Officer or Chief Financial Officer for private and public high-technology companies. Roop spent more than five years at Solectron Corporation including being their interim Chief Financial Officer. Roop was an audit and business advisory manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Roop holds a BS in Business Administration and Accounting from San Jose State University and is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Michael Buseman

EVP, Chief Operating Officer

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Mike Buseman serves as Benchmark’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for all worldwide manufacturing operations. Mike is an accomplished executive with broad experience in operations, quality and customer relationship management. He has an extensive background in EMS and related industries.

Mike served as Chief Global Logistics and Operations Officer of Avnet, Inc., a global electronics components company, and was Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing Operations at Plexus Corp., having served as their Vice President of Global Technology, Quality and Facilities previously.  Additionally, Mike served as Vice President and General Manager of Operations of Celestica, Inc., as well as their Director of Operations, Engineering, and Technology.   Mike began his career in 1983 with Unisys, Inc., holding positions of increasing responsibility, including Principal Process Engineer and Director of Advanced Design Manufacturing Services.

Mike holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from South Dakota State University and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota.

Stephen Beaver

SVP, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer

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Steve leads Benchmark’s global legal, compliance, ethics, and intellectual property matters.  He also serves as Benchmark’s corporate secretary. Steve has over 20 years’ experience in managing legal matters including litigation, contracts, labor and employment matters, trade secret and intellectual property matters, corporate controls, governance, and business processes.   

Steve joins Benchmark from Aspect Software in Phoenix, Arizona where he held the position of Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Prior to Aspect Software, he was with TPI Composites, Inc., a global provider of structural composites products, where he held the General Counsel position. He also served as Vice President and General Counsel of Swift Transportation Company, the nation’s largest truckload carrier.

Steve holds a Juris Doctorate from Marquette University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Arizona.

Scott Hicar

SVP, Chief Information Officer

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Scott Hicar is Senior Vice President  and Chief Information Officer for Benchmark Electronics.  In this role, he has global responsibility for ensuring consistent processes, systems and infrastructure to efficiently support the execution of our business and our customers globally.

Scott has more than 25 years of technology leadership experience in transformational roles, and previously held management positions in the Supply Chain/ERP practice at Price Waterhouse, as well as serving as an internal consultant to chemical, pharmaceutical, and agriculture businesses within ICI Americas.

Scott received his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in business administration, with a concentration in management information systems, from Ohio University.

Jan Janick

SVP, Chief Technology Officer

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Jan’s extensive, customer-focused career covers more than 30 years of leading high-performance multicultural technology development teams at industry-leading computing systems companies. His ability to make decisions quickly and inspire teams to move at the speed of technology make him a valued contributor to the Benchmark executive team, where he leads technology development insights and innovations. In this role, he heads a team of highly skilled engineers responsible for ensuring Benchmark’s components keep our customers’ products at the forefront of their industries.

Prior to joining the Benchmark team in 2015, Jan served as an executive leader at both IBM and Lenovo, where he led the development and delivery of a number of key products, including IBM’s x86-based servers and PureFlex systems. During his tenure at IBM, he established the IBM Taiwan Systems and Technology Lab, growing the group to 300 engineers while leading 650 engineers across four U.S. locations as well as others in Taiwan and China. He also led the IT team for the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy, and led the development, production and program management of IBM’s significant acquisition of Texas Memory Systems.

Jan earned both his Bachelor and Master of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Lisa Weeks

SVP, Chief Strategy Officer &
Head of Investor Relations

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Lisa Weeks is Benchmark's Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Chief Strategy Officer. As a member of the senior leadership team, Lisa identifies and closes strategic acquisition targets, coordinates investor relations activities, and champions the company’s Voice-of-the-Customer initiatives. 

Lisa joined Benchmark in August 1999 and during her tenure has held numerous leadership positions in account management, operations and business development.  Her diverse background and training — from practiced engineer to savvy business practitioner — make Lisa a valuable asset to the Benchmark leadership team. Prior to joining Benchmark, Lisa was an astrodynamics engineer at Teledyne Brown and a program manager at AVEX Electronics. 

Lisa holds both a Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Auburn University and a Master’s degree in business administration from Vanderbilt University.