Broadcom Corp. cofounder Henry Samueli is still making appearances for the chipmaker.
Samueli presented a review of Broadcom’s research and development strategy to a big group of analysts a few weeks ago in Irvine.
He touched on the company’s long-term goal to “connect” everything at home, at work and on-the-go.
He also gave an overview of Broadcom’s employees around the world, of which nearly two-thirds are dedicated to research.
Current Broadcom executives, including Chief Executive Scott McGregor, Chief Financial Officer Eric Brandt and other product group managers, also gave presentations at the analyst day.
It was a surprise to some that Samueli showed up, given his recent legal troubles.
Samueli is appealing a judge’s rejection of a plea deal that would spare him prison time for his role in backdated stock options at Broadcom.
In June, he pleaded guilty to one felony count of lying to Securities and Exchange Commission investigators about options backdating at Broadcom.
As part of a plea deal worked out with federal prosecutors, Samueli was set to pay $12 million to the federal government, a $250,000 fine and to get three to five years of probation.
Samueli stepped down from his role as technology chief and chairman earlier this year after he was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It’s still unclear what role he plays at Broadcom, if any. Some industry watchers have said he’ll stick around as an adviser.
‘Novice Cell Phone Users’
Call me old school here, but it rubs me the wrong way when slick marketers give cell phone-toting kids and teens an important-sounding name: “novice cell phone users.”
Convincing parents that they should buy their kids phones can help build a lucrative market for cell phone service providers such as AT & T; Inc., Orange County’s biggest telecommunications company by number of local workers.
During the holidays, AT & T; pushed what it calls “quick messaging” phones that cost $50 to $100.
They have tiny keyboards in order to maximize that other bane of modern communication,texting.
AT & T; ran ads in the Los Angeles Times and did TV and radio spots to push the phones in a “buy one, get one free” deal.
Its four new quick messaging phones “are selling very well,” according to spokeswoman Jeni Bell.
AT & T; found that people from 13 to 35 years old are interested in quick messaging phones, which fall somewhere in between a fully-loaded smart phone and a standard cell phone.
They are built for people who use texting and instant messenger as their primary modes of communication.
“The smart phones tend to have the latest version of Windows, they are heavy on corporate e-mail and are software dependent,” Bell said. “It’s not something that someone who is heavy into texting would need. We can offer it at a more reasonable price because it’s not loaded up with expensive software.”
The new phones are sort of a boon to parents, according to Bell.
“The parents are oftentimes doing the buying for the younger set,” she said. “They see these devices as a good purchase for their children, who are generally more responsive to a text message. We believe it’s something very popular with the kids but also helps to keep the parents and the kids connected.”
New Marketing Chief
Costa Mesa’s Emulex Corp., a maker of electronics that speed up the flow of data on storage networks, hired a new marketing chief.
The company appointed Steve Daheb, 37, as chief marketing officer.
He’s set to lead its product marketing, corporate business development, partnerships and distribution strategy.
Daheb’s position was created by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Benck, who came to Emulex earlier this year from Aliso Viejo-based rival QLogic Corp.
Before Emulex, Daheb was vice president of marketing and business development at BlueArc., a tech company out of San Jose.
He’s also done stints at Tasman Networks Inc., which was bought by Canada’s Nortel Networks Corp. in 2005, San Jose’s Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (an Emulex competitor) and France’s Alcatel-Lucent.
Anti-Spam Team
Irvine startup Sendio Inc., which makes software that seeks to eliminate e-mail spam, has been on a hiring spree to beef up its sales team.
The company makes software that helps companies, schools and government agencies cut down on junk e-mail and messages with harmful viruses.
Sendio recently hired Jo Javier, 49, as vice president of sales. It also brought on board a half-dozen salespeople.
Previously, Javier worked for the U.S. operations of the Netherlands’ Corporate Express NV, an office supply company that was bought by Staples Inc. for $3 billion earlier this year.
Prior to Corporate Express, Javier was vice president of sales at Laguna Niguel’s Bitfone Corp., a maker of cell phone software that was bought by Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2006.
Another USC alum that’s set to join Sendio’s sales group is Norm Katnik.
Katnik just completed a four-year stint as a football player in the NFL, where he played most recently for the Minnesota Vikings.
