Aaron Woo
Founder & CEO
Under Aaron's direction, Essential Solutions has established itself as Silicon Valley's trusted boutique for retained executive search — placing C-level, VP, and Board-level leaders at companies working in artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors, enterprise software, and the frontier of technology. Over more than 25 years, Aaron and his team have become trusted partners to founders, investors, and leadership teams across Silicon Valley's highest-growth companies. Prior to founding Essential Solutions, Aaron held sales roles at M/A-COM and sales, marketing, and engineering roles at Watkins-Johnson, where he focused on emerging wireless communications markets. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis.
Jerry Corcoran
Vice President
Jerry brings over twenty years of executive-level experience across high-tech companies, venture capital firms, and financial advisors. Prior to joining Essential Solutions, he was Executive Vice President of Marketing, Engineering & Operations, and CFO at Fyre Storm, a digital power management ASIC developer. He previously held C-level and executive roles at Galleon Corporation (GaAs MMICs, transceivers, and ODUs for wireless broadband systems), Spectrian Corporation (RF power semiconductors and systems), and SyQuest Technology (removable hard drive storage). Earlier in his career, Jerry was a partner at Hiller Investments, a nationally recognized turnaround and private equity group, and worked at Key Tronic, The Trump Group, and Braxton Associates. He holds a B.A. in Physics from Rice University.
Spencer Tashima
Executive Recruiter &
Head of Technical Search Services
Spencer has over twenty years of experience across the technology marketplace, leading retained executive search and focused technical searches for hard-to-fill positions in engineering (hardware and software), marketing, sales, and operations — at individual contributor, manager, and director levels. In 2001, he founded Vortex Search, providing executive and technical search services to select high-technology clients on both retained and contingency bases. Earlier in his career, Spencer served as worldwide Sales Manager for Cougar Components and held Product Line Manager, Applications Engineer, Project Manager, and RF/Microwave Design Engineer roles at Watkins-Johnson. He holds Bachelor's degrees in Physics and Music from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and is named on a US music-related patent.
Justin Hammar
Vice President
Justin joined Essential Solutions in 2005 as a Research Associate and now leads full life-cycle executive recruiting engagements focused primarily on VP and C-level placements. Prior to ESI, Justin was a Principal at Montgomery Street Financial Services, an independent boutique investment bank specializing in capital raising, financial advisory, and restructuring for asset-centric industries including energy, transportation, and asset finance. Earlier in his career, he worked at a semiconductor equipment purchasing startup as a database administrator and project manager, and held several IT consulting roles. Justin holds a B.S. in Physics from Santa Clara University.
Kelly Kaneko
Executive Recruiter
Kelly brings nearly twenty years of technology industry experience to Essential Solutions, with a track record of successful placements spanning VP to CEO, primarily in the networking and semiconductor sectors. Prior to joining ESI, Kelly worked at startup companies including Atoga Systems and CoSine Communications, and held marketing and applications engineering roles at several Silicon Valley semiconductor and storage companies. She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UC Davis, with postgraduate studies in business.