Biography
Born in Panama 1960
Education: BS Electrical Engineering Yale University 1982
Work Experience:
- Texas Instruments 1982 – 1989
- US Army (civilian) 1990-1991, 1995-1996
- Bytex Corporation 1993-1994
- Ikos Systems / Mentor Graphics 1991-1992, 1996-Present
- Entrepreneur 1994
Family:
- Wife: Carla
- Children: Gerry, Victoria, Richard
The following is a short biography:
Born on 1960 in Panama City, Panama. Three months later my parents and I arrived in New York, my father's hometown. After my father finished his masters in English he took a teaching position in Mexico. After a year we went back to Panama.
Except for the occasional trip to Florida I stayed in Panama until I finished high school. That is not to say I did not experience the American way of life. I lived in Panama city but had access to the US Canal Zone. In the Canal Zone you had all the tastes of a US community. In Panama I learned to drive, experienced ranching and farming, and learned the love of a large extended family. From 1968 on I also learned what it means to live under a dictatorship. In the Canal Zone I learned to shoot, transited the canal in a nuclear submarine and other ships and tried to play football.
In 1978 I was back in the US on my way to Yale. I found college life at Yale very rewarding. In addition to my focus on science and engineering, I reached for as much non-technical intellectual and physical pursuits as I could cram in. In 1982 I graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering.
From Yale I took a job with Texas Instruments. In my seven years at Texas Instruments (Houston and Boston) I worked with 8 bit micro controllers, digital signal processors, graphics chips, digital logic and application specific integrated circuits. Some of my work ended up in toys, games, terminals, and computers.
During this time I visited Panama often and applied for a job with the US Army. I got an offer on December 3, 1989 at the height of the conflict that pitted the Panamanian dictatorship on one side and the Panamanian people and the US on the other side. The US invaded Panama on December 20 and I took the job on December 29. I worked for the US Army as a computer specialist until April 1991. My unit was in charge of providing and supporting computer equipment for the US Southern Command In July 1991 we returned to the US and I took a job with Ikos Systems supporting North Eastern sales of simulator accelerators. After exactly 2 years I found myself downsized with our second child on the way that month. After a couple of months I landed at Bytex where I helped in the development of a communication chip and developed a board status chip.
At the end of 1994 my father along with others started a multimedia venture to take CD-ROMs and localize them for the Latin American market. I joined him as a project manager and moved my family to Panama again. Like most startups this multimedia business only lasted a while. In the winter of 1995 I took a job as a telecommunication specialist with the US Army Southern Command in Panama. This job had two functions: 1- Plan the technical and financial communications needs for the US Southern Command. 2-Coordinate with the Panamanian government for the transfer of communication assets that the US was leaving behind as part of the fulfillment of the Panama Canal Treaty.
In March 1996 I followed my family back to the US. I had an opportunity to go back to Ikos Systems and go to New England or California. I made a deal to come to Dallas. At Ikos I returned to my former role of being the technical arm of a sales team selling advance verification tools for digital designs around the central US and at times the entire country. In 2003 Ikos was acquired by Mentor Graphics Corporation.
With my wife of 19 years and our children we have made a home in Allen since 1997. Our younger children go to Allen public schools and our eldest graduated from Allen High School. We are very thankful of the great community in which we live.
Extended Family:
Harry Koster (1893-1943)
My paternal grandfather was born in New York. He attended Long Island University Medical School, practiced surgery and conducted medical research. He was a pioneer in the use of spinal anesthesia and a professor of physiology at Columbia University Medical School.
Lily Koster (1893-1948)
My maternal grandmother was born in New York. She taught in that city's public schools and was a homemaker.
Alfonso Tejeira (1903-1995)
My maternal grandfather was born in Penonomé, Panama, and attended Cornell University on scholarship, earning an agronomy degree. He was a teacher, an agricultural consultant, and for many years a public servant in the Ministry of Agriculture, serving as technical secretary and later as vice minister. In these posts he was responsible for Panama's successful land reform in the 1960s and instituted the policies under which Panama became self-sufficient in foodstuffs.
Otilia Arosemena de Tejeira (1905-1988)
My maternal grandmother was born in Panama City and won a scholarship to Teachers College of Columbia University, where she earned a degree in education. Upon returning to Panama she taught mathematics in public schools and education at Panama's National University. In 1958 she was elected Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters, and Education, becoming the first woman in Latin America to hold such a post. Later she was elected to two terms on the directing board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In 1967 she was chosen Woman of the Americas and in 1985, at the age of 80, she came out of retirement to found and chair the Panama Human Rights Committee, the principle focus of resistance to the military dictatorship of General Manuel Noriega.
Otilia Tejeira de Koster
My mother was born in Panama City. She trained as a dancer in England and New York and was a soloist and choreographer with Panama's National Ballet. During Panama's dictatorship she began a second career as a human rights monitor, founding and directing the Panama Center for Human Rights investigations. In 1988 she was one of 35 monitors chosen worldwide to be honored in connection with the 10th anniversary of Human Rights Watch.
Richard Koster
My father was born in New York. He has degrees from Yale and New York Universities. He went to Panama as a soldier and stayed on after discharge, teaching at the Florida State University Panama Branch. He is the author of five novels and a history of Panama's dictatorship. From 1967 to 1996 he was a member of the Democratic National Committee
