Gil Amelio, the former chief executive of Apple Computer Inc. turned venture capitalist, plans to move from the Bay area to Orange County in coming weeks.
After making a deal that ended with his San Francisco-based venture capital firm Beneventure Capital being gobbled up by Irvine-based Advanced Communications Technologies Inc., Amelio has bought a home in Newport Beach and sold his house in the Bay area, according to sources. Amelio lived in OC in the 1980s when he was at Rockwell International Corp.’s semiconductor unit, the predecessor to Conexant Systems Inc.
Amelio is set to take the reins of Advanced Communications, a development stage wireless telecommunications company. For now, the company has completed paperwork to sign him on as a consultant, executives said. Advanced Communications makes wireless communications gear that bypasses technology developed by Qualcomm Inc., according to company officials.
“According to our research, this could be bigger than Qualcomm,” said James Watts, managing director of Pacific Summit Securities, the Irvine-based firm assisting with the deal.
Advanced Communications executives said they are pleased with the deal, citing Amelio’s standing in the technology industry and his network of contacts.
“He has associations of some 20 or 30 years and that gives us a tremendous advantage,” said Advanced Communications current chief executive, Roger May. “He has associations that I don’t have.”
Amelio apparently had been looking for a company to do a deal with when he came across Advanced Communications in October 1999.
“Gil has been talking about this for a long time,” Watts said.
Amelio took so long to do the deal because “he wanted to raise a larger fund.” Though Amelio wanted to do a deal last year, the tumbling market for new stock issues left Beneventure in a stalemate.
Since then, Amelio’s firm has built up its portfolio to include Internet systems integrators and software makers,companies that excite Advanced Communications executives.
“These investments have produced significant results. We’re looking to get solid strategic relationships,” May said.
Amelio previously served as chief executive of National Semiconductor Corp. In his most well-known role, Amelio headed Apple Computer when the company acquired NeXT Software and brought back founder Steve Jobs, the company’s current chief executive. Apple’s board of directors forced Amelio to resign from Apple in 1997 in favor of Jobs.
Amelio’s return is a boost for OC, according to May.
“This guy is committed to Orange County,” he said.
After Amelio’s move, Advanced Communications plans to employ about 100 people in Irvine and pull out 16,000 square feet of office space, about 10 times the small office the company currently has, according to company executives. n
