Steffen Hellmold

Steffen Hellmold is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Western Digital. He is responsible for identifying & leading incubated disruptive innovation projects in support of storage adjacent growth opportunities. His current area of focus is Archive Storage with an emphasis on driving tape and DNA Data Storage innovation to address the growing demand for cloud-scale accessible and deep archive solutions providing improved density and longevity as well as lower product acquisition and operating costs. Before joining Western Digital in 2013, Hellmold was Vice President of Marketing at Everspin Technologies. Prior positions include executive management at SandForce, Seagate Technology, Lexar Media (a subsidiary of Micron), Samsung Semiconductor, Fujitsu and SMART Modular Technologies. Hellmold has been deeply engaged in various industry trade associations as well as industry standards organizations such as JEDEC, IEEE, USB-IF, CFA, SDA, and MMCA. He co-founded the USB Flash Drive Alliance and served as their president from 2003 to 2007. Hellmold holds an Economic Electrical Engineering degree (EEE) from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany.