Enough said.

Setting:     Any Company USA.

Event:        An all-hands employee meeting with the company president & CEO, or, hey, the chairman of the board. Take your pick.

Situation:  An employee points his finger at the president during his remarks and shouts, “You lie!”

Question:  What would happen to the employee? 

A good guess is that the employee would be fired.   If he isn’t fired, he should resign and find a job, a company and a leader that suits his beliefs.

In the case of elected officials, like Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina, Congressional representatives do not have the luxury of always liking or believing what the President says.  And for good reason, elected officials are ‘hired’ by voters because of what the causes and values they stand for.

My guess is that Joe Wilson was hired by his South Carolina constituency because of his beliefs.  Good for him. 

However, Joe Wilson crossed several boundaries with his outburst during President Obama’s speech to Congress the other night.  He crossed the boundary of respecting our nation’s president.  He crossed the boundary of allowing the President his First Amendment rights, and his right as President to address Congress.   Joe crossed the boundary of good manners. He crossed the boundary of representing his employers – his constituents – in a professional, adult manner. 

I think worst of all, he demonstrated that he is not suited to the job of a Congressman.  The basic requirement for being a Representative or Senator is that you are comfortable with compromise, negotiation and teamwork to solve problems.  If you believe that you are joining Congress to change the world, the job is not for you.  Government is not a jet ski; it’s a carrier – big, unwieldy and unable to make turns without a lot of maneuvering.  If Joe Wilson so detests the President that he is willing to call him out in a public forum that is televised around the world, then he has personalized the job to a point where he is no longer effective.

But enough about Joe. 

There are two lessons here.  One is that people need to see themselves as employers, not just voters.  When that happens, government officials will then act as employees of a large business, not as a person with Representative, Senator, Congressman or some other high-falutin’ job title.  When elected officials forget that they are employees of the people, the relationship between their actions and behavior and the demands of their employers is forgotten.  Voters hold the power of the ballot and need to use it to hold their representatives to a standard of performance. 

This is the way of business, and it’s a good lesson for government.  Businesses have the annual performance review.  Government has elections.  Both have a sound purpose.

Elected officials need to remember that they are sent to city councils, state legislatures, and Congress as employees of their voters.  And the reason they are elected is to get a job done by working with everyone else.  If they do not buy in to the basic premise of compromise, negation and cooperation, they need to find a job where these things don’t matter.  Right now, I cannot think of one company job with that kind of opening.

-ends-

The above remarks are the personal opinion of Barbara Kalkis, Maestro PR.

Speakers at today’s SEMI (www.semi.org) outlook luncheon presented forecasts that could be called rosy.  The upturn is coming, but there will be some thorns along the way.  No matter, these are thorns for which the industry can find answers, with collective effort.  Some takeaways:

John Housley, Techcet (www.techcet.com), entertains as well as informs with side issues that influence the technical data. Today, he identified water as the next big issue in the industry, pointing out the millions of gallons being consumed in manufacturing.  Finding ways to reduce water usage – while being ‘green’ in the solution – was the challenge and opportunity for the audience to explore.  John further noted the need to retain technology IP in the United States and to build opportunity for engineering jobs in this country. 

Dean Freeman, Gartner Research (www.gartner.com),  looked at the past, present and future of the overall industry, and spotlighted growth areas for the industry:  solar/PV, solar, and TSVs (through-hole vias).   With community lighting adopting LEDs, Dean saw this as a potentially lucrative market approximating 20 percent CAGR.   As for TSVs, Dean estimated the market could approximate $1 billion by 2012.

Bill McClean, IC Insights (icinsights.com), pushed the audience to think “quarterly, not annually”.  Something that public companies hear from Wall Street. But Bill’s comments were about seeing the growth that has happened in the third quarter and building on the growth factors within the industry for the next quarter.    One of Bill’s other comments also struck a chord.  He reminded the audience that downturns are periods of “pent-up demand” and cited historical instances where downturns were followed by major spending as companies and consumers began upgrading and replacing their current systems.

As always at SEMI luncheons, these three speakers presented data-rich content that is available by contacting the speakers directly, or through SEMI.  Definitely informative reading.

-ends-

Yes.  After all, this is a business blog. High-tech companies can learn important marketing lessons from consumer companies.  And the most important lesson is that winning in the market requires breaking current business models and creating new ones.  The new business model may not be revolutionary; it can be evolutionary.  It may not be inventive.  It might not be innovative. But it changes the way that consumers think about products, choose them, and place their loyalty – and dollars. Subway® has done an excellent job in its market sector. And while semiconductor chips may seem millions of miles across the market spectrum from pickle chips, the lesson of Subway is important to winning market share and revenue in these fierce competitive times. 

The Sales Dilemma.Just consider the marketing and sale dilemma of consumer companies.  These sales warriors compete in markets overcrowded with suppliers.  Every day they face-off against low-cost Asian manufacturers.  They compete for shelf space to win a share of fickle minds that will love them and leave them to save a nickel.   At every step, they need inventiveness and ingenuity to woo and win a sale and do it all over again as soon as a competitor comes up with an offer that may sound a lot better than it really is.   If this sounds like the semiconductor industry, you’re in the right place. 

How We Are Alike.While we in the semiconductor industry like to think of ourselves as different from the scrambling two-step shuffle danced by consumer companies, there are more similarities in what we do.  The first similarity is that competitors in both marketing categories must differentiate themselves from their competition.  IC suppliers do this through specifications we call product features.  Eateries call specifications the menu.  Consumer companies differentiate  through perceived value and service offered.  So do we.  Only difference is that, in the case of fast-food companies, this amounts to whether there is a tomato on your burger or pickles.  Different, but the same concept.  Differentiation requires the ability to break out of the competitive pack in order to be perceived as a leader and then become an actual revenue leader.  It’s not just a matter of offering a vegetarian sandwich instead of a hamburger or (for semiconductors) lower power and better speed.  It means offering something of value that customers want. And this is the toughest part of all.  A company needs to find the advantage that delivers a perceived benefit or advantage that customers want, without them even knowing it.  Until you offer it to them. 

And this is where the Subway lesson comes in.  Subway® has offered its $5 foot-long sandwiches for a long time now.  You choose the kind of bread you want. You get a 12-inch sandwich roll – regular size, not a skimpy special smaller size.  You choose your lunch meat from a list.  You tell the “sandwich artist” (as they are called) what sauces and veggie toppings you want.  The meat portion is no different than the other sandwich options, and you get as many toppings as you want.  And the best part of it is that you can create a sandwich that is under 400 calories.  It’s a great deal, especially if you need a quick lunch that doesn’t break your lunch budget or your diet.  And the sandwich is made to your specifications. From a purely outside view as an aficionado of fast food, these sandwiches are great.  Two people can share the $5 foot-long -- my favorite is the grilled chicken breast – and get a decent meal with no fat guilt.  Is it gourmet?  No.  But neither is any of the other sandwich I get from similar restaurants.  Speed and efficiency are the keys in fast food.  Price is also a reason for eating fast food.  Now, I never recommend competing on price.  It becomes a no-win situation.  But here’s the twist that Subway has put on its low price.  They are working the volume factor.  And they offer some toppings for a fee.  Buy the chips, soup, a drink and a cookie that they offer, and their unit sales revenue increases along with your tab.    Still, what’s not to like.  You get a regular-size loaf of bread for your $5.  That’s a major difference compared to, say the Quizno’s® $4 torpedo white-bread sandwich offer.  (Which is a very small loaf of bread compared to Subway’s loaves.) You keep your calorie and fat levels low.  And you get all the toppings you want, so more food for your money.  This translates to value, quality, custom solution, and price advantages.  

The Lesson for Tech MarketingSubway’s model has been successful from all appearances.  I go into the shop at lunchtime and the place is crowded with professionals in suits, moms and kids, and seniors.  In fact, even the 2009 Zagat Fast-Food Survey rated Subway as the #1 overall provider of what it calls “healthy options”, “best service”, and “most popular”.  (See www.subway.com). Semiconductor companies are accustomed to selling on product specification sheets.  But competition requires more than good specs.  It requires that companies show value beyond the basic product – something that customers want but may not identify in a sales meeting.  It may be design tools, applications support, personalized consultation, an ecosystem of complementary suppliers, on-site training…whatever.   But something that shows your company is not just working in the same old way, waiting for someone to place an order and pay the bill. For now, it appears that Subway has broken the sandwich store model with a marketing approach based on price – yes – but also on value, perceived benefits and customer preferences.  You can’t ask for more from a food chain – or a semiconductor company.    -ends- The above comments are the personal opinions of Barbara Kalkis, Maestro Marketing & PR (sm).

Consumer packaging designers spend a lot of time thinking up ways to make their products stand out from the cluster of competitive products that share their shelf space.  A package’s look, color, emotional appeal and aesthetics all help move a product from a display to the shopping cart.  And designers continually test these attributes and others with customers who are more finicky and less loyal than cats.

I used to buy hair conditioner in a toothpaste-type of tube that could be stored flat in the drawer.  Or placed on its flat-top cap on the medicine cabinet shelf.  It was also easy to tuck into a corner of my suitcase.  Today I had to purchase the same product in an elaborate hard-plastic pump package that stands up by itself.  Yes, the package is pretty, but what a waste of plastic.  The hard fat tube takes up more room in my cupboard and a suitcase.  In fact, I probably won’t bother taking it on trips any longer because the hard packaging will take up too much room in a suitcase.  Especially for international trips when every ounce counts.

I also purchased some suntan lotion for my niece’s small daughters.  Instead of a soft plastic pump container, many SPF 50 lotions for kids now come in an aerosol can.  Huh??  Weren’t aerosols banned and shunned years ago in consideration of the ozone layer?  What’s wrong with the pump containers?  Is it so hard to pump lotion onto your hand and spread it on?  Is there a problem with washing our hands after rubbing a lotion onto our skin?  Is an aerosol really safe to spray around a small child’s eyes, especially when kids are usually squirming around with their attention somewhere else? Just what is wrong with a good old-fashioned tube?

Our industry can squeeze a gazillion electronic functions and apps on both sides of a tiny circuit board the size of an adult thumbprint.  Or use a ball-grid array that can be ‘glued’ to a circuit board.  Or use a band-aid shaped package that’s just as flexible.  Semiconductor chips are manufactured and placed inside consumer products naked – with no packaging to house them. Three-dimensional (3D) packages thinner than the plastic containers for some conditioners or suntan lotions can shelter several chips performing a myriad of functions.  The packaging isn’t pretty, but it’s economical, cost-efficient and, most of all, it works.

Packaging designers for consumer products need to take one of their cell phones, iPods™ or Blackberries™ apart and see how the chips inside are packaged.  Our industry is able to put audio, video, keyboards, calculators, cameras and other functions in sleek products that fit in a shirt pocket.  It’s not just a lesson in productivity, it’s a lesson in sleek design and environmentally conscious manufacturing.   And inspirational for innovative consumer packaging design.

Over the past three months, increasing numbers of companies are sending me news releases, data sheets, personally addressed letters and even homemade digital photos of devices and equipment.  Sometimes I’ll read the news release, but mostly these missives are just sales documents.  And all of them have no relevance to me.   They may be relevant to a client, but for me they are spam.  So, how did my name find its way to these lists?  It appears these companies may be buying names from trade shows or other online service companies who deal in database management. 

Okay, trade shows have a right to rent lists and web companies need to sell their services.  These motives I can understand.  However, what makes a company think that a PR agency has an interest in buying semiconductor chips in lots of 1,000 pieces or a huge machine for a half-a-million dollars (or more)?

This kind of direct-email selling is out of hand.  Companies are not reviewing their database lists.  They are buying or collecting names and sending to everyone, hoping to find someone who is relevant to them.  It’s an update on the old direct mail campaign programs.  The concept is that you mail offers to everyone and if you get even a small percentage – sometimes even 2% - of a reply, you’ve succeeded in getting a payoff.  While the risk of hitting the wrong people is lower thanks to the ease of creating email distribution lists, the method of selling lacks any professionalism or marketing savvy.

And who in high-tech purchases goods for their company this way?  Will purchasing agents, engineers and technical staff really buy equipment based on a blind email?  Will these folks even be inspired to investigate the company that sells using blast emails to names that aren’t vetted in any way?

The Internet can provide excellent coverage and visibility for a company.  And, yes, direct email communications works supremely well.  But it only works when there is some thought about using it to reach the right people. 

In the 19^th century, Charles Messier, a French astronomer gave sense to the universe by creating a catalogue of objects in deep space.  If astronomers find the need to create order out of randomness, certainly marketing people can do the same.

-ends-

Barbara Kalkis, Maestro Marketing & Public Relations (sm)

Every year, we camp in one of the dozens of valleys etched between Hwy 395 and the wall of the Eastern Sierra “range of light”.  It’s a beautiful region: sheer jagged mountains pierce incredibly blue skies that look they’ve been colored by Photoshop instead of nature.  Below 10,000’, Jeffrey pines, junipers and cedars crowd each other for space on the granite rocky ledges, giving way to aspens and sub-alpine flower gardens and more pines, then a vast expanse of sage desert that stretches from California to Utah.  We make camp in one of the national forest sites and settle in for a couple of weeks.  Each time, we meet other stalwart campers seeking escape the big city.  There are no hot spots in these lonely places; no TV; no electricity.  It’s idyllic.  And not the customary location for finding industry lessons.  But this year was different.

A couple in a mansion-RV pulled into a site near us.  The rig was not one of the John-Madden level million dollar traveling homes, not even one of the $500,000 kind.  But the size, triple side-outs, outdoor carpeting, mobile cage for Fido, and a truck painted to match, it was easily a $250,000 set=up.  More like a second home than a camper used only on weekends – or so they said.

The couple were friendly and the first two days seemed fine. Then their generator went out late one hot afternoon.  The RV was without air conditioning or power to run the stove and microwave, and other conveniences of home.  Fixing the problem was beyond their ability.  The wife grumbled about not being able to cook dinner.  Roasting food over a fire was out of the question.  The husband then decided to run the generator sitting in the truck bed.  He ran the generator for the next 5 hours until the 10pm noise curfew started.  For that entire time, all of us who had escaped to this beautiful place for peace and quiet and scenery could barely hear ourselves think for the noise of that generator sitting in the open luxury truck bed.   The couple were completely oblivious to the noise and nuisance they created for everyone else.

When some campers complained, the couple said they needed their AC:

1)       (Opening windows obviously not an option.  They didn’t come for FRESH air.) 

2)    They could not cook dinner.  (Cooking out on the grills provided at each site, or fire pits also in each site were obviously not options. 

3)    Washing dishes in pans instead of a sink also was out of the question.  That was for those people in tents.  They had an RV and by heaven, they were going to get the most out of it.

After two days of this torture, several campers gathered for an impromptu meeting to determine a solution.  Like all brainstorming sessions, 90% of the ideas were no good.  No, we could not cut the cables, put sugar in the gas tank, or flatten the tires. These things would only keep the people in camp.  Two backpackers, looking like they had spent too much time in the wilderness practicing pack-it-in-pack-it-out/leave-no-trace lifestyles, suggested that they had enough rock-climbing rope for a double hanging.  This idea was rejected to allow the backpackers to continue their trek through the Sierras. 

Finally, one of the tenters who had size and brawn  - not to mention a beard that gave him a wild look -- over the RV’ers took matters into his own hands.  He went to the site and quietly explained the facts of the wilderness justice to the offending couple. The generator was immediately shut down, and the couple departed for civilization at dawn the next day.

That’s when the industry lesson hit me.  Think of the people you know that cannot change the way they operate at work.  They refuse to accept or investigate a new process, method, or way of doing things.  When confronted with problems, they cannot adapt to changes out of their control.

The same situation happens with companies.  Like the RV couple, some companies are accustomed to processes and support systems that work.  They have luxury in the form of corporate routines or repeat-business or revenue streams from longtime clients.  Suddenly, market forces change or competition strikes an advantage, and the company cannot adapt.  The vendors cling to the old way of doing things because they don’t know new ways to work; they are uncomfortable with new methods; and they simply are unprepared for changing the company to meet the new market environment.

The couple at camp could’ve had a tasty meal cooked over a grill or open fire.  They may have enjoyed the breeze that picked up the scent of sage and ‘gentle-Jeff” vanilla-pines.  Washing dishes by hand may have been slower, but definitely more gentle on the land and water usage.  And they would have kept the good will of their temporary neighbors.

Companies faced with problems can make the same adjustments.  Instead of instant cutbacks on personnel, production and marketing, they can look for other ways to streamline or change processes, increase R&D to ensure future growth, and continue marketing because when markets change so has their customer base.  And the sales people who say they know all their customers, may find out their contacts are gone, along with their purchase orders.

-ends-

Barbara Kalkis, Maestro Marketing & Public Relations (sm)

Today’s email blast about the MEMS Executive Conference (www.memscongress.com) next November has the classic look of Web 2.0+ internet flyers:  color shots of the hotel venue looking like an idyllic luxury destination with impeccable landscaping under Photoshop-blue skies; head shots of speakers; and inviting promises about the things you’ll learn.  There’s even the routine, but mandatory, list of sponsors. 

What makes this email different from the dozens I receive each year is the listing of social networking sites.  If you want to ‘stay connected’ and up to date on the latest information about the MEMS Executive Conference, you are told to go to LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.  This isn’t just a new twist; it’s  revolutionary.   Information exchange has become instantaneous and social at the same time.  It’s about being friends – or, at least, friendly – with the people we will meet as part of doing business together.

Social networking sites have blasted through the concept of being a simple marketing category.  They are destinations, communication vehicles, and information virtual malls all rolled into one.   Consumers can travel via the keyboard on their iPhone, Blackberry, laptop, or even desktop PC and shop sites for jobs, companionship, long-lost relatives, old friends and business colleagues.  They can  get real-time news from the streets of Tehran, or share random thoughts about anything with anyone in the world looking for quick, easy conversation.

Some pundits may see social networking sites as a fleeting fad that will go away.   I disagree.  Like the first airplane, automobile and computer, networking sites may seem to be a fad, and they may even be replaced by new sites, but they are here to stay for one simple reason:  Consumers have transformed them from social platforms to communication vehicles. 

What does this mean for business?  For events like the MEMS conference, it means engaging attendees and creating a conversation that allows people to get to know each other and the agenda well ahead of the event.  Imagine attending an event where you already feel comfortable and familiar before stepping into the hotel lobby.

Back at the office, social networking/communication malls will change the way we work.  The concept of engaging customers in conversations is not just mandatory, it’s a daily routine.    The conversation is not just about products and the sale, it’s about anything that connects the two of you. 

The conversation medium is now a series of tweets or Facebook dialog, or being part of an ever-expanding network of colleagues.   Newsletters, brochures, flyers, and even news releases will have their place, but the real conversation about a topic will happen via the social networking site.  And, most of all, the sales process is no longer under the ownership of your sales force.  It’snow owned by everyone in a company who has a reason to speak with a customer – either directly or via a random connection via LinkedIn,  Facebook, or Twitter. 

Regardless of where you sit in your company – in an office, in a lab,  or next to the manufacturing floor --  you can reach out to your customers and colleagues, the industry and the world.   And someone, somewhere will be waiting for you.

-ends-

These are personal views of Barbara Kalkis, Maestro Marketing & PR (sm).

Dylan McGrath, journalist for Tech Insights (you also know it as an EETimes derivative) posted a commentary earlier this week about branding.  (See http://www.pldesignline.com/216300299;jsessionid=ZLAKUECNJZPP2QSNDLPCKH0CJUNN2JVN?printableArticle=true).

Dylan’s viewpoint references a panel that industry-influential Wally Rhines, chairman & CEO, of Mentor Graphics, moderated at the Semico Summit (www.semico.com) earlier this month.

The commentary is worth reading because it addresses the thorny topic of how semiconductor companies and their collective industry perceive themselves, the way they sell and, ultimately, how they are going to survive in an internet world where fame is not counted in Andy Warhol’s 15-minutes-of-fame but rather 3-second clicks or 2-second slides (for those of you with Apple iPhones).

As Dylan noted in his article, the executives on the panel were neutral to cool about the importance of branding.  Instead, they took refuge in the idea that semiconductor sales are an engineer-to-engineer sell.  This was rather interesting, since all the companies represented on the panel have active ongoing marketing & PR programs.  News releases, industry contest submissions, webinars/webcasts, trade shows and conferences, company-sponsored events and, yes, even – yikes – advertising play a role in the marketing activities of these companies.  Why? Because branding is not just a tie-breaker when engineers are choosing the devices they will bet their company’s future on.

Next, about this engineer-to-engineer sales concept.  Huh?  Major purchases are not the purview of just engineers.  Purchasing. finance, marketing, and other departments have a hand in choosing suppliers.  The sale begins with an engineer and his role is critical throughout the process, but the final decision is made by many people – including executives who earned engineering degrees but haven’t done any real engineering work for years.

Branding is essential because engineers do not buy on specs alone. No engineering-run company wants to risk the future of its product on an unknown company.  They buy based on a checklist of items, including the supplier company’s personality and culture. And that’s where brand changes the game.  As soon as you begin talking about a company’s reputation, people who work there, their customer base, what others have said about it – you are talking about your view of the company’s brand.

Furthermore, in this slack economy where the running advice is to tighten your supplier base, you want known companies on your “A List”.  If you’re a small company, a good brand name gets you on the list.

Here’s the bottom line:  Branding is what separates you from your competitors, helps you to own your market segment, keeps you on a prime-supplier list, and ensures that when your sales force knocks on a door prospective customers open it.

-ends-

Every March Semico Research (www.semico.com) lures executives from some of the most influential semiconductor companies to speak at its annual 2-day Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona.  The speakers represent top-tier companies, as well as those that break the traditional business mold, buck a trend or demonstrate the potential to leapfrog into the ranks of the movers and shakers of the chip industry.

After attending almost all of the Summits, these are the attributes I find in the visionary speakers.

1)      They project genuine enthusiasm for their company and their industry.

2)      They see the big picture with its social realities, consumer trends, economic forces, competitive landscape, global challenges, and technology’s role in the current environment, regardless of what that is.

3)      They accept reality and base their strategy on it – not what they wish reality to be.

4)      They communicate a high-level strategy that goes beyond their current product line or roadmap – one which can be adapted by the careful listener.

5)      They have a compelling story to tell, and they tell it in a compelling way.

6)      They talk from the heart and maintain eye contact with the audience - not their slides.

CEO to CEO Chat – a tough audience on both sides of the podium.

The speakers, who represent every sector of the semiconductor industry, use this event to share their views about the business environment, real and potential market opportunities, and how their company is navigating the treacherous competitive terrain.

The Semico Summit audience is a tough one to please.  Executives on both sides of the podium are sizing up competitors, looking for sales and searching for potential alliances.  So every speaker is subject to the harshest scrutiny an event can offer – and the most potential.

What emerges from this event is the knowledge that no amount of speaker preparation, gilded phrasing, or pretty slides can disguise the heart of the speaker and his or her company.  The CEO’s personality shines through the smoothest wording. And along with his personality, the values, culture, professionalism, strategy and sheer smarts of the company the speaker represents.

This year five speakers stood out among a field of talented executives.  In each case, the speaker rose above the level of skilled presenter to take a position in that special circle of speakers called “visionary”.  Here are my picks for that honor:

Hector Ruiz, PhD, Chairman of the Board, Global Foundries (http://www.globalfoundries.com/)

Dr. Ruiz presented the conference keynote speech, beginning with an apology that he did not have slides and was not an accomplished speaker.  He then proceeded to mesmerize the audience.  His speech ranged from personal experience and lessons learned, to philosophy, to business advice, to his view of the future and his current project.  His speech provided nuggets of wisdom that became the reference point of many other presentations.  Here are some of them:

To succeed, you must anticipate what will happen.  Then have the courage to take actions.  Follow that action through to completion.

The outcome of this recession will be that consumers will be more aware of value.  Hector called this ‘the flight to value’.

Read to learn.  He recommended the book, The Black Swan, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Take a look at Taleb’s site to determine why (http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS274&q=nassim+nicholas+taleb&aq=0&oq=nassim+nich)

Following that thread, Dr. Ruiz encouraged the audience to be “empirical fanatics” and not to trust overwhelming masses of data, but to examine the outliers and find potential trends in them.

Finally, Dr. Ruiz warned the audience to know who the true owners of the company are; who’s invested in your company, who’s shorting the stock, and who’s voting shares. 

Daniel Mahoney, President & CEO, Renesas Technology America. (http://america.renesas.com/)

Many CEOs claim that their people are their most important attribute, but the point lacks punch given the frequency of lay-offs, cutbacks and hiring freezes in our industry.  Yet, when Mr. Mahoney made this claim in his talk and in the panel on success factors, it sounded sincere – perhaps because he runs a Japanese company.

Mr. Mahoney’s identified three trends shaping our industry:

1)      More people are using machines.

2)      More people are dependent on machines.

3)      People are more ‘green’ in how they view resources like energy and by valuing  conservation.

His thesis is that technology has the capability to address events that cause conflicts and confrontation and provide a solution.

For Renesas, Mr. Mahoney has four goals. Products must be green, intuitive, and secure.

A skillful speaker who is at once entertaining, humorous, and smart – and also somewhat pessimistic about companies under $500 million.