Meet the Team
Orchard is led by renowned innovators and proven industry experts working to realize invention and market success. Orchard’s culture is driven by science, innovation, and collaboration. We seek team members focused on bringing to market leading edge products and technology.
JOHN N. IRWIN III
CHAIRMAN / PRESIDENT
John has managed several portfolio companies with significant global operations, including a major semiconductor encapsulation business in the 80s, and a global food packaging conglomerate which he led through joint ventures in Japan and privatization in Czechoslovakia. John has over 40 years of investing experience and founded several private equity firms such as BPI, Wicks Group, Clearview Capital, Brookside Equity and Hillside Capital. He and his team served on a number of company boards for these funds including PSS (medical billing), Azek (building products), Senior Care (innovator in senior daycare), Performance Health (healthcare physical therapy products) and Select Quote (leader in senior medical and life insurance).
PIERRE KHURI-YAKUB
CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER
Prof. Khuri-Yakub, inventor of the Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (CMUT)—also known as semiconductor ultrasound—has played a pivotal role in its commercialization through leading companies such as General Electric, Philips, Siemens, Hitachi, and Butterfly Network. An IEEE Rayleigh Award winner and Stanford University Professor Emeritus, he brings over 50 years of ultrasound expertise, holding over 110 patents and authoring over 800 publications. Driven by a passion for solving real-world challenges and advancing semiconductor ultrasound technology, Prof. Khuri-Yakub joined the Orchard team to help unlock the full potential of this innovation across diverse applications—ultimately improving lives on a global scale. He earned his undergraduate degree from the American University of Beirut, his master’s from Dartmouth College, and his Ph.D. from Stanford University.
A. SANLI ERGUN
SVP INNOVATION
Sanli has over 20 years of research and development specialization in ultrasound technology and innovation, including serving as an associate professor at TOBB University (Ankara-Turkey), visiting scholar at Stanford University and as a scientist at Siemens Corporate Research. Sanli holds a PhD in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bilkent University (Ankara-Turkey), has authored over a hundred journal and conference articles and has been a distinguished inventor at Stanford University. Sanli is responsible for on-going research development and advanced design at Orchard.
PRISCILLA BABB
COO & STRATEGY
Priscilla has over 15 years of operations experience including P&L responsibility over anchor brand Windex at S.C. Johnson. She also co-founded a US/China nonprofit with the former Finance Minister of Taiwan and serves as strategic advisor to Hillside Capital on hardtech, biotech, and software investments. She holds an MBA from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management and is an alum of Princeton University. Priscilla is responsible for operations, strategy, and organizational development at Orchard.