The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) announced the appointment of two key executives as well as the results of its 2015 Board of Directors’ election. GSA’s board is comprised of industry executives who are representative of the global regions in which GSA holds active memberships.
Scott McGregor, president, chief executive officer and member of the board of directors of Broadcom Corporation, has been appointed vice chairman of the GSA Board of Directors for 2015. Dr. Lisa Su, president and chief executive officer of AMD, has been appointed as a semiconductor director.
“We are honored to welcome Scott and Lisa to the GSA Board of Directors,” said Jodi Shelton, co-founder and president of GSA. “GSA will greatly benefit from their leadership and unique insight to further guide GSA’s growth and mission to support a collaborative ecosystem.”
Mr. McGregor is responsible for guiding the vision and direction for Broadcom’s corporate strategy. Since joining the company in 2005, Broadcom has expanded from $2.40 billion in revenue to $8.43 billion in 2014 revenue. Mr. McGregor joined Broadcom from Philips Semiconductors (now NXP Semiconductors) where he served as president and chief executive officer from 2001 to 2004. Prior to Philips, he held a variety of senior positions at Santa Cruz Operation Inc. (SCO), Digital Equipment Corporation (now part of HP), Microsoft and Xerox Corporation’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Mr. McGregor received a B.A. in Psychology and a M.S. in Computer Science and Computer Engineering from Stanford University. He serves on the board of Ingram Micro and also is Chairman of the Board of Broadcom Foundation. In 2013 Mr. McGregor received UCLA’s IS Executive Leadership Award.
Dr. Su is AMD’s president and chief executive officer and also serves on the company’s board of directors. Previously, she was chief operating officer responsible for integrating AMD’s business units, sales, global operations and infrastructure enablement teams into a single market-facing organization responsible for all aspects of product strategy and execution. Dr. Su joined AMD in January 2012 as senior vice president and general manager. Prior to joining AMD, Dr. Su served in senior positions at Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., IBM and Texas Instruments. Dr. Su has bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She has published more than 40 technical articles and was named a Fellow of the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) in 2009. Dr. Su also serves on the board of Analog Devices, Inc.
The GSA election allows for the majority of the GSA Directors to be selected each year by the voting members. The election process has just been completed and the top four candidates include incumbent Neil Kim, executive vice president, operations and central engineering of Broadcom Corporation; Peter Gammel, chief technology officer of Skyworks Solutions, Inc.; Dr. Sam Heidari, chief executive officer of Quantenna Communications, Inc.; and Andrew Pease, president and chief executive officer of QuickLogic Corporation. In light of the appointment of Mr. McGregor, Mr. Kim has stepped aside from his re-elected director position but will continue to have an important and ongoing role with the GSA board. Mr. Kim has been a valued board member since 2009 and has made significant contributions to GSA’s role and mission during his tenure and will continue to do so in the future.
Mr. Gammel is chief technology officer for Skyworks Solutions, Inc. He joined the company in 2011 as part of Skyworks’ acquisition of SiGe Semiconductor. At SiGe, he served as chief technology officer and vice president of engineering. Prior to this, he was vice president of engineering at Renaissance Wireless and chief technology officer at AdvanceNanotech and for Agere Systems’ Analog Products Business. He was also a distinguished member of technical staff at Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs.
Dr. Heidari, chief executive officer of Quantenna, is a connectivity and communication technologist seeking perfect solutions that enhance our everyday lives. He joined Quantenna in 2009 as vice president of R&D and led the innovation effort in latest Wi-Fi technology. He was appointed as CEO in 2011, and under his leadership, the company has been raising the bar on users’ experience by delivering the most advanced Wi-Fi hardware and software solutions and enabling applications previously not possible. Prior to Quantenna, he was chief technology officer and vice president of Engineering at Ikanos Communications. He served as president and chief executive office at Doradus Technologies which was acquired by Ikanos in 2006. Dr. Heidari is Chairman of the Board of Directors for SiTune Corporation and also serves on the advisory board for the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Southern California. He is a senior member of IEEE and holds 36 U.S. patents. He was named a winner of the 2014 CEO/Executive of the Year by the Golden Bridge Awards.
Mr. Pease is president and chief executive officer and serves on the board of directors of QuickLogic Corporation. He joined QuickLogic in 2006 as vice president of worldwide sales and was promoted to the position of president in 2009 and president and chief executive officer in 2011. Pease is an experienced semiconductor professional. Prior to joining QuickLogic he was senior vice president of worldwide sales of Broadcom Corporation from July 2003 to June 2006 and vice president of sales at Syntricity, Inc. from March 2000 to July 2003. Prior to 2000, Pease held senior sales positions at Vantis Corporation, Integrated Systems Inc., Advanced Micro Devices and DataTrak. Pease is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and served as a naval officer prior to establishing his career in the semiconductor industry.
“We welcome our new and returning 2015 Board of Directors to the Alliance as they demonstrate commitment and service to GSA and more importantly, support for the entire industry whose success is reliant upon its partners,” said Steve Mollenkopf, GSA chairman of the board and chief executive officer, Qualcomm Incorporated. “We are grateful to have such dynamic and innovative leaders whose expertise of the industry will contribute to GSA’s continued growth.”
In its 20 years, the GSA has consistently broadened its global representation that consists of a membership base spanning large multinational corporations to start-up companies in their initial funding phase. Geographically, the GSA represents every major region within the semiconductor industry. The Alliance has strategically expanded its international presence in the EMEA and APAC regions through appointed regional board members, regional partnerships and global market intelligence initiatives.