Person to Watch Henry Samueli
The Business Journal, in a rare move, double dipped and tapped Broadcom co-founder Henry Samueli as the person to watch.
Samueli shed his title as chairman after the sale, and it appears his days as a figurehead of the chipmaker likely are over under the leadership of Chief Executive Hock Tan. Samueli retained a board position and his role as chief technology officer of Broadcom Ltd. but has largely been out of the spotlight since the sale, which left the OC billionaire with about a 7% stake in the entity.
Samueli’s evolving role in Irvine bears watching, though early indications point to a more active streak in local philanthropic efforts—the Samueli Foundation in Corona del Mar in June gave $10 million to the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of California-Los Angeles.
Samueli’s low-key style as the owner of the Anaheim Ducks doesn’t seem likely to change much, as he rarely gives interviews or talks up the hockey club, which is in the middle of the playoffs pack in the Western Conference.
Company to Watch Avago Technologies Inc.
Big job cuts and other core business changes at Broadcom’s University Research Park campus in the past year or so have been the prevalent storyline in OC’s technology sector.
The company has shed more than 770 employees and sold two significant business lines since its $37 billion sale in February to Singapore-based Avago Technologies Inc., which renamed the combined entity Broadcom Ltd. and established its U.S. headquarters in San Jose.
The cuts included the entire management team except for Samueli and the divestiture of its emerging Internet of Things business line and wireless infrastructure backhaul operation.
Broadcom’s Irvine operation has lost about a third of its workforce—a figure that could grow as the company explores the sale of one or more of the four midrise buildings under construction at its new office campus at the Great Park Neighborhoods development site.
— Chris Casacchia
