David Finney, B.Sc., CEng., FIEE, is division manager and chief engineer, responsible for large variable speed drive systems, at the G.E.C. Industrial Controls plant in Rugby, England. In this position he is responsible for the development, design and manufacture of large drive systems for use in mining, metals, paper, oil, and chemical industries throughout the world.

He has been technically involved in the power semiconductor field since 1958, when thyristors were only just emerging, and during this time he has worked on all types of thyristor converters and inverter drives from a few kilowatts up to 10,000 kW using natural and forced commutation techniques and operating in square wave and pulse modulated modes.

He has published a number of articles and given lectures around the world in his chosen subject.