Board Biographical Information Page

Paul Romano is the Chief Operating Officer of Fusion Trade, Inc and has been with Fusion since 2001. Prior to Fusion, Paul held executive management positions with Converge and Real World. Paul has an MBA from the Booth School at the University of Chicago, a Masters in Systems Management from USC, and a BA from Bucknell University. He has been on the Board of IDEA since September of 2008.

Currently, Paul is the Chairman of both the Standards Committee and IDEA-STD-1010 Standard Update Subcommittee, which has been meeting weekly since July of 2009 to completely revise and update the existing Standard. The finished product will include significant new material and will allow IDEA to maintain its leadership role in the fight against counterfeit and substandard product.

Homey Shorooghi (Advanced MP Technology)
Secretary/Treasurer
Annual Board Member (L)
Homey Shorooghi has over 34 years of industry experience. He is the founder of Advanced Silicon Technology Inc. and was the President of Advanced Silicon Technology from 1987-1994. Homey graduated from USC in 1986 with an Engineering degree. In April of 1994 Advanced Silicon Technology and MP Systems merged to form Advanced MP Technology. Homey has serves as the president of Advanced MP Technology since 1994.

Homey Shorooghi, with his vast industry experience, extensive knowledge of the global semiconductor markets and electronic components as well as his day-to-day involvement in Advanced MP Technology’s business, has been a great contributor to the success of Advanced MP Technology.

Advanced MP Technology is a founding member of IDEA since 2003.

Board Members

Gil Aouizerat (PCX, Inc.)

Executive Board Member (S)

Prior to PCX, Inc., Gilles started and owned a Painting Contracting company and built it to over 100 employees in 5.5 years before selling it in December of 1993.

Gilles (Gil) has worked in the Independent Distribution Industry since January of 1994 when PCX was opened. He has been a Member of IDEA since its inception. He attended UC Riverside for Political Science and Economics and matriculated in June of 1989.

P. Steve Calabria (PC Components Company, LLC)

Senior Board Member (S)

Steve is a Senior Board Member and the elected President of IDEA. He has been an active IDEA Member since 2004 and is also the founder and CEO of PC Components Company, a leading Stocking Independent Distributor. Steve holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering from the College of New Jersey and has gained a unique perspective of the industry and the supply chain from more than 30 years of industry experience in OEM, EMS, and OCM sectors.

Steve's industry work experience began as an Electronic Bench Technician. Upon graduation as an Electronics Engineer, Steve was employed as a Senior Component Engineer, Quality Manager, and Purchasing Manager for industry-leading organizations that include IBM, Lockheed-Martin, EAI, Base Ten Systems, and PC Enterprises. Steve has had "final say" with respect to maintaining Qualified Parts Lists (QPLs) used to build end products that range from commercial expansion boards that you might find inside an IBM or Tandy Personal Computer to defense systems including the Sidewinder Missile. Steve also gained experience in a Component Manufacturer (OCM) organization while he worked as a Semiconductor Process Engineer for IBM where he performed design and fabrication support, test, and SEM analysis of ICs including the industry's first 256K x 1 DRAM.

In 1984, Steve founded PC Enterprises, an OEM that achieved world-leading status as an after-market supplier of upgrades for IBM PCjr, PC, and Tandy Computers. Under Steve's direction, PC Enterprises produced more than 70 different products and shipped millions of items worldwide. PC Components, which was originally founded as the purchasing division of PC Enterprises, is today a separate entity.

Jose Cortez (4 Star Electronics, Inc.)
Annual Board Member (M)
Jose is the Quality Control Director at 4 Star Electronics and his primary responsibilities include; Vendor Management, Inspection/Testing, Equipment Development, and Returns. He has worked in all quality related occupations within the electronics industry since 1995 that began at Merit Cables, Inc., a medical OEM that manufactures patient monitoring cables. In 2001, he was hired as the Quality Control Manager for Certified Components Group, a quality driven independent distributor that allowed him to succeed in counterfeit parts mitigation at its very beginning. This led to his eventual hire at 4 Star Electronics in 2008 as the Quality Control Manager. He has since been honored with MVP and Manager of the Year Awards in each of the last three years and was recently promoted to Quality Control Director. Due to his deep passion and skill set for quality organization, Jose has succeeded in creating policies and procedures that have led to the achievement of industry standard certifications which include; ISO 9001, AS 9120, FAA AC00-56, CCAP-101, ANSI/ESD S20.20, DLA QSLD, and IDEA-ICE-3000.

Dan Ellsworth (World Micro)

Executive Board Member (L)
Dan co-founded World Micro in 1995 and has for fifteen-years provided clear leadership and direct management of all financial aspects of the business, which has since grown steadily to become a highly successful venture. In addition to the oversight of World Micro's legal, regulatory, and accounting functions and processes, Dan also oversees the trading and management of all excess materials.

Ellsworth attended Western Carolina University and moved to Clearwater, Florida to start a career in the brokerage business. During the next decade, he spent many years working with Raymond James & Associates as an investment advisor. Dan was responsible for the active management of assets, diversification classes, establishment of new accounts and the development of prospecting tools. After co-founding World Micro, the business was subsequently moved from Florida to Georgia. His acumen and judgment were honed during his time spent in the brokerage business. He has successfully applied the myriad skills and disciplines gained during that period to World Micro, and continues to help lead an exceptional team of people today. Dan resides in Atlanta and has been happily married for nine years to his wife, Terri. Dan and Terri have two children.

Ray Ford (Impact Components)

Executive Board Member (M)

Ray has been in the Independent Distribution Industry since 1988 and is the Managing Partner at Impact Components in San Diego, CA. Impact joined IDEA at its inception and continues to strive to perpetuate the credibility and respect of Independent Distribution. Ray's background is in Electronics, and prior to Impact, he worked as a Field Engineer for Dicomed Corp. in the field of high resolution computer graphics. His training in Electronics comes from the U.S. Navy, where he specialized in Satellite Communications and Cryptographic Equipment as well as Radar and HF Communications gear.

Tom Gilbert (MIT Distributors, Inc.)

Executive Board Member (M)
Tom received his BBA from Stephen F. Austin State University, majoring in marketing and management. Toms career in the electronics industry began working for a service bureau selling printed circuit board design. After gaining valuable knowledge of the electronics market, MIT Distributors was formed. Tom was a founding partner of MIT Distributors in 1992. In 1995 Tom became the controlling partner and in 1999 became the sole owner of MIT Distributors Inc. Tom has had experience in all phases of the business and has lead MIT through quality certifications including AS9100B. MIT has been an IDEA member since 2008.

Jason Jowers (Velocity Electronics, LP)

Executive Board Member (L)

Jason has served as Velocity Electronics' Director of Quality and Operations since February 2001. As such, he is responsible for Velocity's quality inspection program, AS9120 and ISO 9001:2000 certified quality management system, ANSI/ESD S20.20 certified program, export compliance program, warehousing, logistics, and support.

Prior to joining Velocity, Jason served eight years in the United States Army as an Armor officer. Jason holds a B.S. in management from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a MBA from the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business.

Darren Summer (Electrospec, Inc.)

Executive Board Member (M)
Darren has been employed with Electrospec since 1999. He has held various positions within the company since his hire and is currently the VP of Sales and Marketing for Electrospec. He has developed Electrospec’s leading edge software and is also responsible for Electrospec’s AS9120 and ISO quality management system. He has served on numerous IDEA committees the last two years and is looking forward to an increased role. Darren has an degree from University of Nebraska and currently resides in Cedar Knolls, NJ.