Jesse Chen has served as one of our directors since February 1998 and was Chairman of the Board of Directors from May 2004 until October 2007, at which time he was appointed our lead independent director. Since May 1997, Mr. Chen has served as a managing director of Maton Ventures, an investment company. From 1990 to 1996, Mr. Chen co-founded BusLogic, Inc., a computer peripherals company, and served as its chief executive officer. Mr. Chen serves on the board of directors of several private companies. Mr. Chen has a B.S. degree in aeronautical engineering from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan and a M.S. degree in electrical engineering from Loyola Marymount University.

David C. Chang, Ph.D. has served as one of our directors since December 14, 2000. Dr. Chang has served as president of Polytechnic University in New York (now known as Polytechnic Institute of New York University) from 1994 to 2005 and President Emeritus and chancellor from 2005 to present. Previously, Dr. Chang was dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Arizona State University. Dr. Chang served as director of the NSF/Industry Corporate Research Center for Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Computer Aided Design from 1981 to 1989. Dr. Chang is a member of the board of directors of Time Warner Cable. Dr. Chang has a M.S. degree and a Ph.D. in applied physics from Harvard University and a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan.

Leonard J. LeBlanc has served as one of our directors since April 2003. Mr. LeBlanc was the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Vantive Corporation, a customer relationship management software and solution company, from August 1998 to January 2000. Mr. LeBlanc served as the acting chief financial officer and vice president of corporate development for Ebest, Inc., a privately held applications software company from February 2001 to September 2003. From March 1996 to July 1997, Mr. LeBlanc was the executive vice president of finance and administration and chief financial officer at Infoseek Corporation, an internet search and navigation company. From September 1993 to December 1994, Mr. LeBlanc served as senior vice president, finance and administration of GTECH Corporation, a manufacturer of lottery equipment and systems. From May 1987 to December 1992, Mr. LeBlanc served as executive vice president, finance and administration and chief financial officer of Cadence Design Systems, Inc., an electronic design automation software company. From 2000 to 2009, Mr. LeBlanc was the chairman of the board of directors and chair of the audit committee of Oplink Communications, Inc., a provider of optical manufacturing solutions and optical networking components. From November 2009 to present, Mr. LeBlanc is a consultant to Oplink Communications, Inc. In May 2007, Mr. LeBlanc was certified as director of corporate governance by UCLA's Anderson School of Management. Mr. LeBlanc has B.S. and M.S. degrees from the College of Holy Cross, and an M.S. degree in finance from George Washington University.

Christine Russell has served as one of our Directors since December 23, 2019. Ms. Russell serves on the audit, compensation and nominating/corporate governance committees. Ms. Russell also serves on the board of directors and as audit committee chair of both QuickLogic Corporation (Nasdaq: QUIK) and eGain Corporation (Nasdaq: EGAN). She is chairman emeritus and a director on the board of SVDX (Silicon Valley Directors Exchange), a professional organization that provides a forum for education, conversation about current issues, and peer interaction for boards of directors of Silicon Valley companies. Since 2018, Ms. Russell has served as CFO of PDF Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDFS), a provider of yield improvement technologies for the IC manufacturing process life cycle. She previously served as CFO of Uni-Pixel, Inc., a manufacturer of touch sensor films, which was sold to a China-based firm; Vendavo, Inc., a SaaS-based pricing optimization software company addressing the Global 2000; and EAG, Inc. (Evans Analytical Group), a global provider of analytical testing for technology companies, including major semiconductor, chemicals and pharmaceuticals firms. Prior to EAG, she served in the roles of both CFO and EVP of business development at Virage Logic Corporation, a Nasdaq-listed semiconductor intellectual property company that was sold to Synopsys, Inc. in 2010.

Previous positions include CFO for OuterBay Technologies, Inc., a database archiving software company, which was sold to Hewlett-Packard Company in 2006. She was CFO of CEVA, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEVA), a DSP IP company, with a global finance, IT, legal and HR staff based in Dublin, Ireland and Herzliya, Israel, where she introduced the LSE-traded company to the US investing public as it became listed on Nasdaq.

She completed successful IPOs for two Nasdaq-listed companies. Other senior financial positions held by Ms. Russell include Cygnus Solutions, Shugart Associates, a Xerox disk drive subsidiary, and Measurex (Honeywell). Ms. Russell holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

Dr. Morris S. Young is the founder and Chief Executive Office of AXT. Dr. Young co-founded AXT in 1986 and served as President, CEO and Chairman of the Board from 1989 to 2004. From 2004 to 2006, he served as Chief Technology Officer and CEO of AXT China Operations. In 2007, Dr. Young retired from AXT management, but continued to serve on the Board of Directors. In July 2009, Dr. Young was reappointed as the CEO of AXT. Prior to founding AXT, Dr. Young served as a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Prior to that, Dr. Young served as a Member of Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Labs. Dr. Young holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Chengkung University , Taiwan, a Master of Science degree in Metallurgy from Syracuse University and 1975 a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Metallurgy from Polytechnic Institute of New York University.