One of the biggest names in processors and radios adds a legend in the mobile industry to the board
After a relatively quiet period following his departure from HP in early 2012, Jon Rubinstein is back in the news as he joins the board of directors at mobile chip maker Qualcomm. Rubinstein is well regarded as one of the few people that drove the creation of modern mobile devices, likely being most famous for his years at Palm as an executive chairman and later chief executive. He also saw Palm make the difficult turn downwards and eventual sale to HP, which he ended up staying at for a short amount of time as lead of the "Personal Systems" division. Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm, had this to say:
"His experience in creating revolutionary consumer electronics and mobile products will provide added insight to Qualcomm's board as we continue to expand the scope and impact of wireless products and technology, improving and enhancing people's lives around the world."
Any company in this industry would be ecstatic to have a mind like Rubinstein at the table, and it will be interesting to see how he can possibly give insight into Qualcomm's business going forward. While Rubinstein may not be known for development of processors and radios, it's hard to overstate the amount of knowledge he has of mobile as a whole.
Qualcomm Elects Jonathan Rubinstein to Board of Directors
SAN DIEGO, May 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced the election of Jonathan Rubinstein to its Board of Directors. Rubinstein brings more than 30 years of experience in the mobile, computing and consumer electronics industries to the position, and he last served as senior vice president of Product Innovation for Hewlett-Packard Company until January 2012.
"We are extremely pleased to welcome Jon as a member of Qualcomm's Board of Directors," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, chairman and chief executive officer of Qualcomm. "His experience in creating revolutionary consumer electronics and mobile products will provide added insight to Qualcomm's board as we continue to expand the scope and impact of wireless products and technology, improving and enhancing people's lives around the world."
Rubinstein's longstanding career has spanned a number of roles. In his most recent positions at HP, he led product innovation for HP's Personal Systems and, prior to that, presided over the launch of the HP's Touchpad tablet as senior vice president and general manager of Palm Global Business Unit. Previously, Rubinstein joined Palm Inc. as executive chairman in 2007, where he focused on product development, R&D and engineering to drive Palm's return to innovation with its webOS software and smartphone devices. He led Palm as chairman and chief executive officer from June 2009 until it was acquired by HP in 2010. Prior to his role at Palm, Rubinstein earned the nickname, "The Podfather," while running Apple's iPod division, where he was instrumental in creating the iPod and its robust ecosystem. He also served as senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, where he was responsible for overhauling the Apple's engineering teams, product roadmaps, manufacturing processes and leading the rapid rollout of the iMac. Rubinstein previously held a number of engineering and leadership positions at different computing companies, such as Stardent Computer and NeXT Computer Inc., and founded his own company, Firepower Systems Inc.
Rubinstein is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a senior member of the IEEE and a board member of Amazon.com, Inc. He earned a bachelor's and master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University and a master's degree in Computer Science from Colorado State University.
About Qualcomm Incorporated
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is the world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm's licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm's engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT. For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm's website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.
