Gil Amelio
Encyclopedia
Gilbert Frank Amelio is an American technology executive. He grew up in Miami, Florida and received a bachelor's degree, master's degree, and Ph.D. in physics
from the Georgia Institute of Technology
. Amelio worked at Bell Labs
, Fairchild Semiconductor
, and the semiconductor division of Rockwell International
but is best remembered as a former CEO of National Semiconductor
and Apple. Amelio was CEO of National Semiconductor from May 27, 1991, to February 2, 1996. During his tenure at National Semiconductor, Amelio cut costs and returned the company to profitability.
in 1970, Amelio was on the team that demonstrated the first working charge-coupled device
(CCD).
He moved to Fairchild Semiconductor
in 1971, where he led the development of the first commercial CCD image sensors in the early 1970s, and in 1977 became head of the MOS
division.
Amelio became Apple CEO on February 2, 1996, succeeding Michael Spindler
. His salary was a reported $990,000 plus bonuses and a $5 million loan. He also received approximately $100,000 for the use of his business jet
by Apple the previous year according to the section "Certain Transactions" in the Apple Proxy Statement for 1996.
Amelio cited several problems at Apple including a shortage of cash and liquidity, low-quality products, lack of a viable operating system strategy, undisciplined corporate culture, and fragmentation in trying to do too much and in too many directions. To address these problems Amelio cut costs, reduced Apple's work force by one third, discontinued the Copland
operating system project, and oversaw the development of Mac OS 8
.
To replace Copland and fulfill the need for a next generation operating system Amelio started negotiations to buy BeOS
from Be Inc.
but negotiations stalled when Be CEO Jean-Louis Gassée
demanded $275 million; Apple was unwilling to offer more than $200 million. In November 1996 Amelio started discussions with Steve Jobs
' NeXT
, and bought the company on February 4, 1997, for $429 million.
During Amelio's tenure Apple's stock continued to slump and hit a 12-year low in Q2 1997 that was at least partially caused by a single sale of 1.5 million shares of Apple stock on June 26 by an anonymous party who was later confirmed to be Steve Jobs. Apple lost another $708 million; however, they did report a $25 million dollar profit prior to Amelio leaving. Apple had a multi-billion dollar loss the year before. On the July 4, 1997 weekend, Jobs convinced the directors to oust Amelio in a boardroom coup; Amelio submitted his resignation less than a week later; and Jobs then became interim CEO on September 16. In 1997 Amelio said in an interview with technology journalist Gina Smith, who asked him how Apple was doing:
, and CEO of Acquicor, a company he co-founded with ex-Apple CTO
Ellen Hancock
and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak
. Acquicor completed the acquisition of Jazz Semiconductor in Newport Beach, California
in early 2007 and has since been granted SEC approval.
In February 2001 Amelio became CEO of Advanced Communications Technologies (ADC). ADC is the United States arm of an Australian firm that has developed a product for the wireless communications industry called SpectruCell. SpectruCell supports multiple protocols and is software upgradeable, which has been characterised as a big boon to the cell phone market.
Amelio is a former director and chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association
. Since 1996 has been an advisor to the Malaysia Multimedia Super Corridor and to Malaysia's Prime Minister. Amelio is a current or past director of AT&T Inc., Pacific Telesis
, Chiron Corporation
, Sematech
, the Georgia Tech Advisory Board (as chairman) and the American Film Institute
. In June 2003 he was named Chairman of the Board of Ripcord Networks; where he joined Steve Wozniak, Ellen Hancock, and other Apple alumni. In October 2005 Amelio joined the Board of Advisors to Vanguard PAC (now TheVanguard.Org). Gil Amelio is on the advisory board of tech start-up Intelicloud
.
Amelio is an IEEE Fellow. He has been awarded 16 patents. He is the author of three books: An American Imperative (1993), Profit from Experience (1995) and On the Firing Line: My 500 Days at Apple (1998), the latter two of which were business bestsellers.
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
. Amelio worked at Bell Labs
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
, Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. is an American semiconductor company based in San Jose, California. Founded in 1957, it was a pioneer in transistor and integrated circuit manufacturing...
, and the semiconductor division of Rockwell International
Rockwell International
Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation....
but is best remembered as a former CEO of National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer, that specialized in analog devices and subsystems,formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. The products of National Semiconductor included power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers,...
and Apple. Amelio was CEO of National Semiconductor from May 27, 1991, to February 2, 1996. During his tenure at National Semiconductor, Amelio cut costs and returned the company to profitability.
1970–1979: CCDs at Bell Labs and Fairchild
At Bell LabsBell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
in 1970, Amelio was on the team that demonstrated the first working charge-coupled device
Charge-coupled device
A charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...
(CCD).
He moved to Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. is an American semiconductor company based in San Jose, California. Founded in 1957, it was a pioneer in transistor and integrated circuit manufacturing...
in 1971, where he led the development of the first commercial CCD image sensors in the early 1970s, and in 1977 became head of the MOS
MOSFET
The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor is a transistor used for amplifying or switching electronic signals. The basic principle of this kind of transistor was first patented by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in 1925...
division.
1994–1997: Apple Computer
In 1994 Amelio joined the Board of Directors of Apple. After his resignation from National SemiconductorNational Semiconductor
National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer, that specialized in analog devices and subsystems,formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. The products of National Semiconductor included power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers,...
Amelio became Apple CEO on February 2, 1996, succeeding Michael Spindler
Michael Spindler
Michael Spindler , nicknamed "the Diesel" for his reputed around-the-clock work habits, was president and CEO of Apple from 1993 to 1996....
. His salary was a reported $990,000 plus bonuses and a $5 million loan. He also received approximately $100,000 for the use of his business jet
Business jet
Business jet, private jet or, colloquially, bizjet is a term describing a jet aircraft, usually of smaller size, designed for transporting groups of up to 19 business people or wealthy individuals...
by Apple the previous year according to the section "Certain Transactions" in the Apple Proxy Statement for 1996.
Amelio cited several problems at Apple including a shortage of cash and liquidity, low-quality products, lack of a viable operating system strategy, undisciplined corporate culture, and fragmentation in trying to do too much and in too many directions. To address these problems Amelio cut costs, reduced Apple's work force by one third, discontinued the Copland
Copland (operating system)
Copland was a project at Apple Computer to create an updated version of the Macintosh operating system. It was to have introduced protected memory, preemptive multitasking and a number of new underlying operating system features, yet still be compatible with existing Mac software...
operating system project, and oversaw the development of Mac OS 8
Mac OS 8
Mac OS 8 is an operating system that was released by Apple Computer on July 26, 1997. It represented the largest overhaul of the Mac OS since the release of System 7, some six years previously. It puts more emphasis on color than previous operating systems...
.
To replace Copland and fulfill the need for a next generation operating system Amelio started negotiations to buy BeOS
BeOS
BeOS is an operating system for personal computers which began development by Be Inc. in 1991. It was first written to run on BeBox hardware. BeOS was optimized for digital media work and was written to take advantage of modern hardware facilities such as symmetric multiprocessing by utilizing...
from Be Inc.
Be Inc.
Be Incorporated was an American computer company founded in 1990, best known for the Be Operating System and BeBox personal computer. Be was founded by former Apple Computer executive Jean-Louis Gassée with capital from Seymour Cray....
but negotiations stalled when Be CEO Jean-Louis Gassée
Jean-Louis Gassée
Jean-Louis Gassée is a former executive at Apple Computer, where he worked from 1981 to 1990. He is most famous for founding Be Inc., creators of the BeOS computer operating system. After leaving Be, he became Chairman of PalmSource, Inc. in November, 2004.-1980s: Apple Computer:Gassée worked for...
demanded $275 million; Apple was unwilling to offer more than $200 million. In November 1996 Amelio started discussions with Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
' NeXT
NeXT
Next, Inc. was an American computer company headquartered in Redwood City, California, that developed and manufactured a series of computer workstations intended for the higher education and business markets...
, and bought the company on February 4, 1997, for $429 million.
During Amelio's tenure Apple's stock continued to slump and hit a 12-year low in Q2 1997 that was at least partially caused by a single sale of 1.5 million shares of Apple stock on June 26 by an anonymous party who was later confirmed to be Steve Jobs. Apple lost another $708 million; however, they did report a $25 million dollar profit prior to Amelio leaving. Apple had a multi-billion dollar loss the year before. On the July 4, 1997 weekend, Jobs convinced the directors to oust Amelio in a boardroom coup; Amelio submitted his resignation less than a week later; and Jobs then became interim CEO on September 16. In 1997 Amelio said in an interview with technology journalist Gina Smith, who asked him how Apple was doing:
"You know, Gina, Apple is like a ship, that ship is loaded with treasure, but there's a hole in the ship. And my job is to get everyone to row in the same direction."
1998–2011: after Apple
Since 1998 Amelio has been a venture capitalist focusing on early-stage startups. He is currently Senior Partner at Sienna Ventures in Sausalito, CaliforniaSausalito, California
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
, and CEO of Acquicor, a company he co-founded with ex-Apple CTO
Chief technical officer
A chief technology officer is an executive-level position in a company or other entity whose occupant is focused on scientific and technological issues within an organization....
Ellen Hancock
Ellen Hancock
Ellen Hancock is a technology manager from the United States who has worked for IBM and Apple, among others.Hancock was born in the Bronx, New York City and raised in Westchester...
and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak
Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak is an American computer engineer and programmer who founded Apple Computer, Co. with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne...
. Acquicor completed the acquisition of Jazz Semiconductor in Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
in early 2007 and has since been granted SEC approval.
In February 2001 Amelio became CEO of Advanced Communications Technologies (ADC). ADC is the United States arm of an Australian firm that has developed a product for the wireless communications industry called SpectruCell. SpectruCell supports multiple protocols and is software upgradeable, which has been characterised as a big boon to the cell phone market.
Amelio is a former director and chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association
Semiconductor Industry Association
The Semiconductor Industry Association is a trade association founded in 1977 that represents the United States semiconductor industry. It is located in San Jose, California....
. Since 1996 has been an advisor to the Malaysia Multimedia Super Corridor and to Malaysia's Prime Minister. Amelio is a current or past director of AT&T Inc., Pacific Telesis
Pacific Telesis
Pacific Telesis Group was one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies, sometimes also referred to as "RBOCs" or "Baby Bells", created in 1983 in preparation of the breakup of AT&T as a holding company for Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell, Pacific Telesis International and several other...
, Chiron Corporation
Chiron Corporation
Chiron Corporation was a multinational biotechnology firm based in Emeryville, California that was acquired by Novartis International AG on April 20, 2006. It had offices and facilities in eighteen countries on five continents. Chiron's business and research was in three main areas:...
, Sematech
SEMATECH
- Purpose :SEMATECH , a not-for-profit consortium, performs research and development to advance chip manufacturing. SEMATECH has broad engagement with various sectors of the R&D community, including chipmakers, equipment and material suppliers, universities, research institutes, and government...
, the Georgia Tech Advisory Board (as chairman) and the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
. In June 2003 he was named Chairman of the Board of Ripcord Networks; where he joined Steve Wozniak, Ellen Hancock, and other Apple alumni. In October 2005 Amelio joined the Board of Advisors to Vanguard PAC (now TheVanguard.Org). Gil Amelio is on the advisory board of tech start-up Intelicloud
Intelicloud
InteliCloud is a private Newport Beach, California-based developer and manufacturer of next-generation data center equipment founded in 2007.-Company history:InteliCloud was founded in late 2007 and incorporated in January 2008...
.
Amelio is an IEEE Fellow. He has been awarded 16 patents. He is the author of three books: An American Imperative (1993), Profit from Experience (1995) and On the Firing Line: My 500 Days at Apple (1998), the latter two of which were business bestsellers.