David Lam Group, headed by David K. Lam, is an investment and advisory firm for high-tech companies. Lam is probably best known for Lam Research, which he founded in 1980. Under his guidance as CEO, the company introduced the industry's first fully automated plasma etching system for semiconductor manufacturing in 1981, and established a market beachhead in Japan through a strategic partnership in 1982. Lam Research went public in 1984 and has since become a global leader in semiconductor capital equipment. Lam now uses his experience and expertise to provide guidance to emerging technology enterprises. Serving on boards of directors, he advises management at various stages of growth. Lam has assisted companies in a wide range of fields, including semiconductor and semiconductor equipment, micro- and nano-device manufacturing, computer hardware and software, medical devices, and energy infrastructure. In addition to his corporate experience, Lam was appointed by President George H. W. Bush to serve on the U.S. Commission on Minority Business Development and by California Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas to serve on the Commission on the Future of the Courts. He also served on the Visiting Committee of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lam is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum and a member of the Committee of 100. Lam graduated from the University of Toronto with bachelor's degree in engineering physics, and holds master's and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering from M.I.T.