SAN FRANCISCO—Technology licensor Rambus Inc. Monday (June 25) named Ronald Black, a 20-year veteran of the semiconductor and mobile industries, to the position of CEO. Black replaces Howard Hughes, Rambus' CEO since 2005, who
announced earlier this year that he planned to retire.Black is the former CEO of French handset vendor MobiWire SAS, formerly known as Sagem Wireless. Black also served as CEO of UPEK Inc., which was acquired by AuthenTec Inc. in 2010, and Wavecom SA, a provider of embedded wireless technologies for machine-to-machine communications. Prior to that, Black served as executive vice president of the client systems group at Agere Systems and, previously, held senior executive positions at several firms, including Motorola and IBM Microelectronics.
"Ron's experience in managing through complex businesses at various levels and helping them achieve objectives make him an excellent fit for the next phase of Rambus," said J. Thomas Bentley, chairman of Rambus' board of directors, in a statement.
"Rambus has a long history of strong technology development with some of the world’s best inventors solving some very tough problems." Black said. "There are tremendous opportunities ahead in the lighting and security businesses as well as in the traditional semiconductor business."
Hughes will remain on Rambus' board of directors.