Bingham has served as executive chairman of Cadence (San Jose, Calif.) since the appointment of Mike Fister as president and chief executive officer in May 2004. Bingham had held those positions since 1999 and served as executive vice president and chief financial officer since 1993.

John Shoven, Charles R. Schwab Professor of Economics at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Institute for Economics Policy Research, has been elected chairman of the Cadence board. Shoven has been a member of the Cadence board since 1992.

"The last six years have been exciting but extraordinarily demanding, and the time is now right for me to step down and focus on my many other commitments," said Bingham in a statement issued by Cadence. "We have restored our technology leadership and forged major strategic partnerships with key industry leaders. I am very grateful for the dedication and many contributions of our talented employees and management around the world in helping to realize those strategic goals."