LONDON – Mike Hackworth, chairman of fabless chip company Cirrus Logic Inc. (Austin, Texas) has died aged 71 years. Hackworth was a veteran of Silicon Valley and a pioneer of the fabless chip company business model.
He graduated from Santa Clara University in 1965 with a BS in electrical engineering and spent a large part of his early career at Signetics Inc. rising to the position of group vice president.
In 1985 Hackworth left Signetics and became president and CEO of the Cirrus Logic which was a fabless chip company that wanted to participate in the market for PC motherboard chips. Over time the company has grown and come to focus on precision analog and mixed-signal ICs.
Hackworth took the company public on NASDAQ in 1989 which helped the company to raise capital and acquire Crystal Semiconductor Inc. in 1991. Hackworth stepped down as CEO in favor of David French in February 1999 but remained chairman of the company.
Michael L. Hackworth"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our friend and chairman Mike Hackworth," said Cirrus Logic's board of directors in a statement. "In creating Cirrus Logic he led the way for the fabless semiconductor industry, and with the company’s success proved that real men really don't need fabs. Through his work and philanthropy he had a tremendous positive impact on thousands of people. We will miss him greatly. Our thoughts go out to his family in this sad time."
Related links and articles:
www.cirruslogic.com
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