DR. PAUL E. JACOBS
Qualcomm Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Paul E. Jacobs is chairman & chief executive officer and a member of the Company’s board of directors. A leader in the field of mobile communications for nearly two decades, Dr. Jacobs has been a key architect of Qualcomm’s strategic focus on enabling wireless data services.
Through his technology innovations and advocacy, Dr. Jacobs spearheaded Qualcomm’s efforts to develop and commercialize mobile technology breakthroughs that have contributed significantly to the growth of both the Company and the industry. Important developments which began under Dr. Jacobs include: the first Palm OS®-based smartphone; inclusion of GPS capabilities in cellphones (which led to the acquisition of SnapTrack™ and Qualcomm's development of gpsOne™ position-location technology); the BREW® system, which enables over-the-air downloading of applications using digital signatures to ensure the integrity of the content, and the business ecosystem that enables BREW developers to engage operators globally and receive payment for their applications. More recent developments include MediaFLO technology for mobile TV.
Following completion of his Ph.D. in 1989 and a year as a post-doctoral researcher at a French government lab, Dr. Jacobs joined the company fulltime in 1990. As an innovative leader of a broad range of technical teams within Qualcomm, Dr. Jacobs has been granted more than 35 patents for his inventions in the area of wireless technology and devices.
In 1995, he was appointed to run the Company’s handset and integrated circuit division, which was subsequently divided into Qualcomm Consumer Products and Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. In 2001, he became the Group President of the Qualcomm Wireless and Internet Group, overseeing a number of divisions. Dr. Jacobs became CEO in July 2005 and was appointed Chairman in 2009.
Dr. Jacobs is a board member of A123Systems, a privately held supplier of high-power lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles and other applications.
He holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
About Qualcomm
Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Qualcomm is included in the S&P 100 Index, the S&P 500 Index and is a 2008 FORTUNE® 500 company. For more information, please visit www.qualcomm.com.