Vast strategic and management changes and hundreds of local job cuts initiated over the past few years at Broadcom Corp. and more recently at Broadcom Ltd. are creating opportunities for former executives that ultimately could reshape Orange County’s technology landscape.
Robert Rango, who was tapped last month to lead Irvine-based battery maker Enevate Corp., is the latest example.
Rango from 2002 to 2014 held various leadership roles at Broadcom, including in networking infrastructure and wireless connectivity, which he grew from a $200 million business annually to $3.4 billion and a leader in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.
“Under my management, we were able to drive those businesses to No. 1 in the world,” he told the Business Journal.
Broadcom was acquired in February by Avago Technologies Inc. for $37 billion and renamed Broadcom Ltd.
Rango served as vice president and general manager of Broadcom’s Mobile and Wireless Group in his last three years at the company, charged with growing baseband business, a segment Broadcom had invested more than $1 billion in that’s dominated by San Diego-based Qualcomm Corp.
Baseband chips essentially are the technical brains of mobile phones.
Broadcom about two years ago exited the baseband business.
“When that happened, I decided to leave. It just wasn’t the right place for me to be going forward,” Rango said. “I think of myself being the growth guy.”
Enter Enevate, which has developed an HD-Energy battery the size of a credit card that improves battery life 30% to 50% compared to current standards, making it ideal for smartphones, tablets, ultra-thin notebooks and drones. Mass production will begin this year as the company seeks strategic partners.
“The board was looking for someone who could scale the company and take it to the next level,” Rango said.
Other recent Broadcom transplants include 15-year veteran Mohammad Tabatabai, who was tapped early last year to head Irvine-based accessory maker Peri Inc., and nine-year veteran Yossi Cohen, co-founder and chief executive of Laguna Niguel startup MagnaCom Ltd. Its technology, which can be built into chips, is billed as unclogging spectrum capacity limits facing every wired and wireless system, from broadband and DSL to Wi-Fi and 5G connections.
Startup Names COO
Costa Mesa-based startup and fast grower Ultra Mobile has hired former Toyota and Nissan executive and California State University-Fullerton alum Sherrie Simmons as chief operations officer to drive innovation, incubate products, streamline release cycles, identify opportunities and oversee projects.
The telecom, which offers international calling cards and national plans, was cash-flow positive in its first year of business in 2011. Revenue topped $100 million in its second year.
Last year it zoomed to the top of the list of Inc. Magazine’s 5,000 fastest growing private companies in the U.S. and finished with more than $150 million in revenue. The company, which sells more than 1 million SIM cards a year, probably will bring in close to $200 million this year, according to co-founder David Glickman.
Microsoft First in OC
A Microsoft Specialty Store opened last week at Brea Mall, the first of its kind in OC.
The location offered deals on the NuVision 8-inch Tablet and Surface Pro 4 models, as well as demos of the highly anticipated HTC Vive virtual reality system.
The store is Microsoft’s 13th in California and its third in OC. Its South Coast Plaza and The Shops at Mission Viejo locations aren’t branded as specialty outlets.
