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of Directors. Mr. Pardun's tenure on our Board of Directors, including as both Chairman and lead director,
and his service on numerous other public company boards of directors also provide valuable perspective to
our Board of Directors, especially in leadership and governance matters. We believe these experiences,
qualifications, attributes and skills qualify him to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.
Arif Shakeel, 58, has been a director since September 2004. He joined us in 1985 and has served in
various executive capacities. From February 2000 until April 2001, he served as Executive Vice President
and General Manager of Hard Disk Drive Solutions, from April 2001 until January 2003, he served as
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and from January 2002 until June 2006, he served as
President. He served as Chief Executive Officer from October 2005 until January 2007. He served as
Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer from January 2007 until June 2007.
Mr. Shakeel's more than 25 years of experience in our industry, including service to Western Digital in
numerous executive positions and as a Board member, provide valuable knowledge to the Board of
Directors in areas of technology, operations, marketing and procurement. As our former Chief Executive
Officer, he has a deep understanding of the complexities of our global business. We believe these
experiences, qualifications, attributes and skills qualify him to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.
Akio Yamamoto, 55, has been a director since September 2013. Mr. Yamamoto is Director, Vice
President and Executive Officer of the Medical System Operations Group of Hitachi Medical Corporation, a
subsidiary of Hitachi. He has served Hitachi companies since 1984 in leadership roles for numerous
functional departments. Prior to his current role with Hitachi Medical Corporation, he was Division General
Manager of the Enterprise Server Division, Information & Telecommunication Systems of Hitachi. Prior to
that, he held various other positions within the Information & Telecommunications Systems division of
Hitachi.
Mr. Yamamoto brings to the Board of Directors senior executive leadership experience with Hitachi,
one of our largest stockholders, which provides a valuable perspective to our Board of Directors. He has
significant experience in the technology sector from his numerous years of experience with Hitachi's
information and telecommunications division. Mr. Yamamoto also brings significant experience conducting
business in Japan, which is an important geographic region for our company following the acquisition of
HGST. We believe these experiences, qualifications, attributes and skills qualify Mr. Yamamoto to serve as
a member of our Board of Directors.
Masahiro Yamamura, 62, has been a director since May 2012. Mr. Yamamura is General Manager of
the semiconductor business division of Hitachi, a position he has held since 2011. In 2010, he served
Hitachi as Corporate Officer, while also overseeing HGST as Chairman across 2010 and 2011. Prior to that,
in 2009, Mr. Yamamura was President of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Japan, Ltd., a subsidiary of
HGST, after having joined the company in 2008 on assignment as Senior Vice President and advisor to the
Chief Executive Officer. Previously, he served Renesas Technology Corporation as Executive General
Manager and Managing Officer, and later as Director, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Renesas
Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. Mr. Yamamura began his career with Hitachi in the semiconductor
department.
Mr. Yamamura brings to the Board of Directors senior executive leadership experience with Hitachi,
one of our largest stockholders, which provides a valuable perspective to our Board of Directors. He has
significant experience in the hard drive market from his years of service to HGST, providing the Board of
Directors with a unique perspective on this newly acquired business. He also brings significant experience
with conducting business in Asia, including China and Japan, two critical geographic regions for our
company following the acquisition of HGST. We believe these experiences, qualifications, attributes and
skills qualify Mr. Yamamura to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.
Vote Required and Recommendation of the Board of Directors
Under our By-laws, in an uncontested election, each director nominee will be elected as a director if the
nominee receives the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast with respect to his or her election (in other
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