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T. J. Rodgers

Also Known As Thurman John "T. J." Rodgers, Rodgers Thurman J, Rodgers, Rodgers

CEO of Cypress Semiconductor

Education

  • Master's degree -
  • Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering - Stanford University

Overview

Thurman John "T. J." Rodgers CEO OF Cypress Semiconductor, Inc.(CY)

After finishing a doctorate at Stanford, he turned down a job offer from Intel, saying that CEO Andrew S. Grove was unlikely to give him the freedom to pursue his own projects. Instead Rodgers accepted a job at American Microsystems, Inc. (AMI), where he continued development of VMOS, but this project was a failure.

Rodgers founded Cypress Semiconductor in 1982 and served as founding CEO. Cypress is a semiconductor design and manufacturing company, producing PSoCs, microcontroller, IoT, wireless and USB, PMICs, memory and sensor chips. As CEO, Rodgers was responsible for more than 30 acquisitions, including SunPower and the IoT portfolio of Broadcom Corporation. Cypress also benefited from its business with Apple Inc., as its PSoC was behind the iPod click wheel. He stepped down as CEO in April 2016. In 2015, Cypress had more than 6,000 employees and revenues of US$1.6 billion. The company had about 7,000 issued patents and about 1,200 additional patent applications on record.

Rodgers is an avid jogger and wine enthusiast. He is a supporter of several charities, including Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, and served as a trustee on the Dartmouth College Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2012. He is the husband of Valeta Massey.

Early Life

Thurman John "T. J." Rodgers born on March 15, 1948, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He goes back to nearby Green Bay, Wisconsin several times a year to attend Green Bay Packers football games. His father was a car salesman and worked for General Motors and his mother was a school teacher, with a master's degree in radio electronics. He was a Sloan scholar at Dartmouth College and played on the Dartmouth Big Green football team. In 1970 he received his bachelor's degree, graduating as salutatorian with majors in chemistry and physics. He received his master's degree (1973) and Ph.D. (1975) in electrical engineering from Stanford University. While pursuing his Ph.D. degree, Rodgers invented the VMOS process technology, which he later licensed to American Microsystems, Inc. He founded Cypress Semiconductor in 1982. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala City.

Career

  • Cypress Semiconductor - CEO

Recognition

1986:

Entrepreneur of the Year by City of Santa Clara, California

1988:

ENCORE (Entrepreneurial Company of the Year) Award from the Stanford University Business School

1996:

"CEO of the year" – Financial World

1997

Outstanding Individual Entrepreneurship Award from the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship

2000:

Award from the Healing Institute for his support of the Carver Scholars Program

2001:

Cited as one of the "100 People Who Changed Our World." by Upside

Silicon Valley Capitalism Award for "exemplifying the virtues of capitalism and defending capitalism with ethical principles in the media."

Angel Award by the International Angel Investors organization for his venture-capital activities supporting the semiconductor industry

Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Smith Center for Private Enterprise Studies at California State University, Hayward

2002:

"Top 100 Chief Executives" by Chief Executive

2005 :

Inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame.

2006:

Honored with a Fellow Award from the International Engineering Consortium.

2009:

Spirit of Ireland Award

Reference

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