Who is Cristiano Amon, and how did he become the CEO of Qualcomm?
Source: Forbes
Qualcomm has had a spectacular 2024, with stock prices rising and endless opportunities for growth on its horizon. Many in the industry credit this successful streak to the CEO of the company, a Brazilian immigrant and a telecommunications veteran. Who is Cristiano Amon, and how did he end up as the head of the American semiconductor giant?
Background
Cristiano Amon was born in Campinas, Saõ Paulo, Brazil. His father was an electrical engineer, and Amon chose to follow in his footsteps when he enrolled at Universidade Estadual de Campinas.
Professional Background & Immigration to the US
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1992, Amon took a job with NEC’s Brazilian branch. The position required him to move to Tokyo and to travel frequently to San Diego, California, where he often met with representatives of the semiconductor firm Qualcomm. The company hired him in 1996 to head its expansion into Latin America.
Amon briefly left Qualcomm to work for different telecommunications companies like Ericsson, VeloCom, and Vésper. But in 2004, he returned to Qualcomm and worked his way up to CEO in 2021.Â
Contributions to the US Economy
Shortly after Amon became CEO, the COVID-19 pandemic caused supply shortages of the processors used in Qualcomm’s chips. He managed to negotiate acquiring more processors than his competitors, setting up his tenure as CEO for early success.
Under Amon’s leadership, Qualcomm will move into producing microprocessors slated to power the next generation of personal computers, so the 54-year-old industry veteran has his work cut out for him.
