13 May 2016

Skyworks names Liam Griffin as CEO; David Aldrich to become executive chairman

Skyworks Solutions Inc of Woburn, MA, USA (which manufactures analog and mixed-signal semiconductors) says that its board of directors has appointed president Liam K. Griffin as CEO. Griffin was also elected to the board. David J. Aldrich, CEO since 2000, will assume the newly established role of executive chairman and continue to serve as chairman of the board.

Skyworks says that it has substantially outpaced the broader semiconductor market, growing revenue at a 25% annual rate from $1.1bn in fiscal 2010 to over $3.2bn in fiscal 2015. In parallel, the firm has maintained a leadership succession planning process to ensure that the organization continues to follow this path in future.

"Liam Griffin has become Skyworks' chief executive officer as we capitalize on the enormous global mobility and Internet of Things opportunities ahead of us," says Aldrich. "Liam has a demonstrated track record of success, and our proven partnership over 15 years makes him my logical successor. He is a highly energetic and motivating leader who is widely respected amongst our customers, partners, suppliers and investors as well as the entire Skyworks employee base," he adds. "Liam has the unique ability to translate challenging operational plans into market outperformance through his intense focus and unyielding tenacity." 

As executive chairman, Aldrich will support the management transition and work with the leadership team to develop long-term strategy. Aldrich has served as CEO of Skyworks and its predecessor Alpha Industries since 2000. Annual revenue grew from $126m in 1999, when he became president & CEO, to over $3.2bn as of fiscal 2015, while operating income increased 7477%.

Griffin joined Skyworks in August 2001 as head of sales & marketing. His responsibilities have continuously expanded with his leadership of Skyworks' business units, R&D efforts and operations. In 2011, he was promoted to executive VP and in May 2014 was named president. Griffin has been a key architect of the strategy to cement the firm's position in mobile communications while diversifying across the Internet of Things.

Before joining Skyworks, Griffin was VP of worldwide sales at Dover Corp and held product management and process engineering positions at AT&T's Microelectronics and Network Systems businesses. Griffin received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts and a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston University.

"Over the past 17 years, Dave Aldrich's vision and leadership have built Skyworks into one of the largest and fastest-growing semiconductor companies in the world," comments Griffin. "We have created an awesome platform for analog, mixed-signal and RF product integration leveraging our OEM relationships and operational scale," he adds. "I look forward to continuing to work closely with Dave and building upon all of his achievements."

Tags: Skyworks

Visit: www.skyworksinc.com