EEWebPULSE_2012_i0034.pdf

EE Web

PULSE

EE Web.com

Issue 34

February 21, 2012

Geir Førre

Energy Micro

Electrical Engineering Community

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Geir Førre

ENERGY MICRO

Interview with Geir Førre - President and CEO

Developing the Leopard Gecko and

Giant Gecko Microcontrollers

BY GEIR FØRRE

Energy Micro’s CEO describes their line of energy-efficient microcontrollers and what sets

them apart from the rest.

Featured Products

Are You Gaining What You Should

From Your Antenna?

BY BRIAN PETTED WITH LS RESEARCH

Brian Petted walks us through key antenna design considerations for choosing the optimal

antenna.

Dynamic Range: Important When

Choosing A Source Measurement Unit

BY ROBERT GREEN WITH KEITHLEY

Robert Green outlines the evolution of SMUs and the importance of dynamic range testing on

these devices.

RTZ - Return to Zero Comic

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INTERVIEW

Geir

my father being an electrician

and my older sister becoming an

electronics engineer influenced my

decision.

Can you tell us about your

work history/journey to

becoming the President and

CEO of Energy Micro?

After earning my MSEE in

microelectronics, I started my

professional career as a researcher

at SINTEF, a large multi-technology

research institution. There, I was

a part of a group doing advanced

mixed-signal IC design for a variety

of applications including radiation

sensors, high temperature ICs for

oil well instrumentation and highly

integrated radio ICs. In 1996, after

four years at SINTEF, two colleagues

and I started Chipcon.

Førre

Energy Micro

Can you tell us about your

work as co-founder, president

and CEO of Chipcon?

When we started Chipcon in 1996

I think it was a little bit by chance

that I became the CEO. In the

beginning we were all basically

doing the same things, and it wasn’t

until a few years later that I adopted

more of a leadership role. I began to

enjoy the leadership and strategic

aspects of my job more and more,

which I believe is a key reason why I

kept developing in that position and

remained as the CEO until and after

Chipcon was acquired by Texas

Instruments 10 years later.

How did you get into

electronics/engineering and

when did you start?

I am an engineer and entrepreneur

at heart and my whole life has

been about making and building

things, in both my professional and

my private life. I can’t say exactly

what it was that led me to become

an electronics engineer; maybe

Geir Førre - President and CEO

How were you able to

develop it into the market

leader in low-power RF

solutions only a decade after

its founding in 1996?

It actually only took between six

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INTERVIEW

and seven years. During the first

three to four years we only did

consultancy services and custom

ASIC projects. We slowly started

restructuring the business from

ASIC to RF ICs in 1999, and by 2003

this transition was complete. By

2005 we had already become the

market leader. I think the one single

reason why we were able to achieve

this was our speed of innovation.

Compared to our competitors, we

brought newer, better products

to market significantly faster. We

were able to maintain this high

speed of innovation because the

company had very clear vision,

direction and goals, which created

an energetic atmosphere within a

group of people who really wanted

to succeed.

water, I began to think about the

future. Should I remain within TI

(which was not a bad alternative)

or should I do something else? I

think it was at this time I realized

that I really am an entrepreneur at

heart and I love being the underdog

and fighting to become the world

leader in a particular industry. The

only way to put myself into such a

position again was to start from

scratch once more.

allow me to set clear direction and

goals to do what it takes to get there.

Do you have any tricks up

your sleeve?

I would refer to my previous answer.

Very few companies (either start-up

or mature) have well defined visions

and goals. If you do not know where

you want to go, how on earth can

you get there? A company with a

clear idea of its goals has the best

recipe for a great future. Energy

Micro’s 2020 goal is to reach one

billion dollars in revenue. This is

100 times more than we have today.

The most important

thing we can do

to maintain and

strengthen the leading

position we have is to

continue to be the most

innovative company

in our industry.

Do you continue to maintain

an active role in product

development? If so, how?

I was a decent analog IC designer

many years ago, but I am too rusty

now to really contribute anything.

But with regard to the overall product

roadmap and product strategy, I

continue to contribute very strongly.

What were your personal and

professional goals after selling

Chipcon to Texas Instruments

in 2006?

At the time I think my only goal was

to successfully integrate Chipcon

into Texas Instruments. Looking

back, I think the first six months after

selling Chipcon were the busiest of

my life. That period of time was very

hard, both physically and mentally.

It was physically difficult due to the

long hours and extensive travelling,

and mentally difficult because

many of the processes and cultural

elements that made Chipcon what it

was could not continue unchanged

within a much larger company like

TI. I have to give a lot of credit to

TI for how well it did integrating

Chipcon, and how well it manages

its business overall. The way the

company treats its people is also an

example to be followed.

Can you tell us more about

Energy Micro and the

technology it is developing?

The original mission of Energy

Micro when the company was

founded in 2007 was to make

the world’s most energy efficient

microcontrollers based on 32-bit

ARM technology. There were (and

still are) three industry trends

that all indicated that this could

be a very successful mission:

1) More and more applications

are becoming battery-operated,

which requires better low-energy

solutions. 2) Electronic products

are continuously becoming more

advanced, which effectively moves

applications from 8 and 16-bit

architectures to 32-bit architectures.

I resigned from TI without knowing

much more than the fact that I

wanted to start a new adventure.

It took me another eight months

before the idea of Energy Micro

became a reality.

What have been some of your

strengths that have helped

you get to where you are

today?

First of all, I have a lot of weaknesses.

But I do have a few key strengths

that make me a good entrepreneur:

I believe I am a visionary who is

very persistent. These two qualities

Once I started to get my head above

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