SIA Award Dinner Caps Successful Week for Semiconductor Industry

by Dan Rosso, Vice President, Communications

Last week was a busy and highly productive one for SIA and our members.  

The week began with long-awaited news that the U.S. and China reached a deal to expand the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), a key trade pact that eliminates duties on a range of information and communications technology (ICT) products, including semiconductors. The bilateral deal, which was years in the making, now paves the way for final approval of the agreement by all ITA countries next month. The deal made national news, including coverage in USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and NPR.

Later in the week, SIA board members and stakeholders gathered in San Jose to participate in the board of directors meeting and the annual SIA Award Dinner. During the meeting, the board of directors finalized SIA’s priorities for 2015 and elected Intel CEO Brian Krzanich as its 2015 chairman and Dr. Necip Sayiner, president, CEO and director of Intersil, as its 2015 vice chairman. “On the cusp of innovations such as the Internet of Things, wearable devices and smart cities, the U.S. semiconductor industry is poised for growth,” said Krzanich. “I look forward to collaborating with colleagues and policymakers to ensure that our industry reaches its full potential, continues to create jobs and keeps America at the forefront of technological advancement.”

On Thursday evening, SIA presented its 2014 Robert N. Noyce Award to John P. Daane, President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Altera, at the SIA Award Dinner. The Noyce Award is the industry’s top honor, given annually in recognition of a leader who has made outstanding contributions to the U.S. semiconductor industry in technology or public policy. 

    Dr. John E. Kelly III, IBM senior vice president, director of IBM Research, and 2014 SIA chairman, presents the
                                              2014 Noyce Award to Altera CEO John P. Daane.

During his award acceptance speech, Daane called on SIA members to help advance semiconductor industry priorities: “Help us advance the critical issues outlined in the SIA roadmap,” Daane said.  “Get involved as a company or personally in supporting programs in the workplace. Only together can we ensure our success and ability to win over the long term.”

Dr. John E. Kelly III, IBM senior vice president, director of IBM Research, and 2014 SIA chairman, presented the award to Daane and offered his insights on the strength and promise of the chip industry. “The future of our industry is even brighter than we’ve seen in the past,” Kelly said.  

Also during the dinner, SIA president & CEO Brian Toohey highlighted the importance of the ITA breakthrough:  “An expanded ITA will be the most valuable agreement for the high tech sector in over a decade. It will save companies in this room hundreds of millions of dollars in global tariffs each year.” Toohey also announced the launch of a campaign called It All Starts Here, which seeks to demonstrate all the great things that have come about because of semiconductors.

The evening closed with a keynote presentation by noted economist Austan Goolsbee, whose remarks were as entertaining as they were informative. Goolsbee offered sharp, witty assessments of the state of the U.S. economy and how it might impact the semiconductor industry. It was a fitting end to a busy and productive week for SIA and our industry.