Freescale

Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE:FSL) was one of the first semiconductor companies in the world, starting as a division of Motorola in Phoenix, AZ in 1949. It specializes in embedded processing solutions, providing products that are advancing the automotive, consumer, industrial, and networking markets. Freescale’s products range from microprocessors and microcontrollers to sensors, analog integrated circuits, and connectivity. Among the firm’s key applications and end markets are automotive safety, hybrid and all-electric vehicles, wireless infrastructure, smart energy management, portable medical devices, consumer appliances, and smart mobile devices.

President and CEO: Gregg Lowe

Gregg Lowe was appointed President and CEO of Freescale Semiconductor, effective June 2012. He joined Freescale from Texas Instruments, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President, Analog. Lowe previously served TI in a range of leadership roles including head of TI’s European automotive sales organization. He also led TI’s Microcontroller and Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) organizations.

Lowe earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1984 from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, IN. He later received the university's Career Achievement Award to recognize his accomplishments in the community and within the semiconductor industry. Lowe graduated from the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University. He is also fluent in German.

Gregg serves as a member of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Board of Trustees. In addition, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. in Cleveland, OH, appointed Gregg to its Board of Trustees in 2010.
 

Year company was formed: Freescale was spun off of Motorola in 2004 and went public in May 2011

Company trivia:

• 1969: A Motorola radio transponder relayed the first words from the moon to Earth in July. The transponder aboard the Apollo 11 lunar module transmitted telemetry, tracking, voice communications, and television signals between Earth and the lunar crew.
• 1984: Motorola introduced the MC68020 32-bit microprocessor. It contained 200,000 transistors on a three-eighths-inch square chip.
• 1996: Motorola was one of the few suppliers to deliver the first microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS) inertial sensors for automotive airbags.
• 2010: It is estimated that 7 out of 10 mobile phone calls are carried by Freescale silicon, based on nearly 70% share of RF power devices in infrastructure equipment for the years 2005 through 2010.