TIME Europe Digital 25 The A-List : Parthus; Arm; Nokia; 25 people who will change the way you work, phone and play.
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22. Brian Long
Parthus Technologies
Job description: CEO
Age, Nationality: 44, Irish
Web address: parthustechnologies.com
Long is one of the new generation of European managers who gained experience in the U.S. technology industry, then returned to Europe to launch powerful companies of their own. After working for Digital Equipment Corp. and AT&T, Long created an Irish semiconductor intellectual property developer called SSL, now known as Parthus Technologies, in 1993. The company grabbed headlines in October when it unveiled a breakthrough chip designed to power a broad range of mobile Internet devices‹including third-generation cellular phones, MP3 music players and pdas‹as well as wireless platforms like gps and Bluetooth, a technology that allows devices to communicate with each other within a 10-m radius. Parthus, which had an initial public offering in May, developed the chip design with Psion, the British handheld computer manufacturer. Psion has agreed to license the chip for its new range. Parthus does 40% of its business in the U.S., while revenues in Asia, which represented only 3% of overall sales in the second quarter of this year, shot up to 11% in the third quarter.
The vision thing: "Since the mobile phone industry is so strong in Europe, companies like ours are in a lead position to validate the next generation of devices."
Forward spin: Parthus is expecting more strong growth in its business in Asia.
8. Robin Saxby
ARM Holdings
Job description: President and CEO
Age, Nationality: 53, British
Web address: www.arm.com
ARM was created a decade ago to promote a microprocessor developed by Acorn, a leading supplier of desktop computers to British schools. Acorn folded but under Saxby's leadership ARM has gone on to become a global tech company with a market cap of about $8.6 billion. ARM designs chips and then licenses the architectures to chip makers. The firm controls an estimated 80% of the global market for chips for mobile handsets, and also sells chip designs for use in cars, wireless local area networks and digital subscriber line modems, which expand the capacity of ordinary phone lines. The company has also announced designs for audio and video chips and chips that work with the Java programming language, widely used in small portable devices. ARM reports that its sales and earnings are flourishing but it has taken a beating in recent months like other high-tech stocks. And the company faces more competition.
The vision thing: "We are designing the blueprint for the digital age."
Forward spin: Saxby wants his company to design chips that can be implanted inside the human body to restore lost motor function.
25. John Hodgson
Cambridge Silicon Radio
Job description: CEO
Age, Nationality: 57, British-American
Web address: www.cambridgesiliconradio.com
Cambridge Silicon Radio is the first to market with a very hot technology: a single-chip solution for Bluetooth. This breakthrough Bluetooth interface is compact and inexpensive, housing the radio transmitter, baseband controller and microcontroller on a single chip. Demand is expected to skyrocket as manufacturers include Bluetooth chips in PCs, laptops, mobile phones, cameras, printers and cars. Analysts predict that about 1 billion Bluetooth wireless devices will be shipped by 2005, creating a market worth up to $5 billion. Hodgson is a team builder who believes in a systems approach to innovation, just the kind of manager Europe needs to successfully export its technology.
The vision thing: "We have a six-month lead [in Bluetooth technology] and are going to be chased by everybody."
Forward spin: Japan is moving fastest to integrate Bluetooth, starting with PCs and laptops. The U.S. is moving very rapidly to integrate the technology into other things, such as pdas. Integration with cell phones is happening at a slower pace. |
