Cree has announced that Gregg Lowe will take the position of president and CEO of the company effective September 27, ending the long-time reign of Chuck Swoboda who guided the company’s total focus on LED usage in general illumination applications. Lowe was previously CEO of Freescale Semiconductor, a company acquired by NXP Semiconductors in 2015 and Qualcomm announced late in 2016 that it was buying NXP. Current Cree board member Robert Ingram will take on the role of chairman that was previously also held by Swoboda.
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Swoboda announced plans to step down back in May during a quarterly financial results announcement. Often in the technology industry, executive departures are characterized as resignations when in actuality the company board drove the change. But in the case of Swoboda, the decision was apparently voluntary after an undetailed health scare that led the relatively young professional to seek a change of lifestyle.
Swoboda had been Cree CEO since 2001 and chairman since 2005. He ran the organization with a razor-like focus based on LEDs becoming the primary light source for general illumination far quicker than most expected. We covered that philosophy after a presentation Swoboda made back in 2010 when LEDs could only serve in select lighting applications such as street lights. Swoboda’s results were at times spectacular, although Cree missed the significant role that mid-power LEDs would play in general illumination.
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