Future Electronics Inc. is a distributor of electronic and electro-mechanical components headquartered in

Pointe-Claire Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and retail. As of the 2021 cen ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Future Electronics is one of Quebec's largest privately owned companies and is currently the third largest electronics distributor in the world. It operates in 170 locations in 44 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. The company follows a business model that emphasizes zero debt and the willingness to buy and hold inventories, allowing the company to maintain positive relationship with component suppliers. In 2014, its revenues were $5 billion.

History

Future Electronics was founded in November 1968 when Robert Miller left his job in electronics distribution to form a new company. Alongside his business partner, Eli Manis, Miller set up an office in Montreal and began a distribution operation. In 1972, the pair opened an office in

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. Miller became the sole owner of the company after he bought Manis out for $500,000 in 1976. By 1988, an office in

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had opened its doors, and Future Electronics was a major distributor in the United States. In the decades that followed, Future became a globally recognized distributor of components. It remains privately owned to this day. In 1999, the company was raided by the U.S.

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI) and the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

in a fraud probe into the company. ''U.S. Department of Justice with the Central Authority of Canada suspected Future Electronics of defrauding TI, Motorola, Analog Devices and other U.S.-based companies, by falsely reporting to Texas Instruments and others the amount of their products that FEC sells.'' A few years later, in 2002, the FBI and

U.S. Attorney's Office United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

announced they would not pursue charges in the matter. In February 2023, its founder ceased to be chairman and CEO of the company amid allegations that he solicited multiple underage girls for sex, while denying the accusations.The founder of Future Electronics Robert Gerald Miller was arrested in May of 2024 on 21 sex charges involving 10 complainants, many of whom were minors when the alleged offences occurred between 1994 and 2016. One of the alleged victims was under the age of 14. In late 2023, it was announced that WT Microelectronics had entered into an agreement to acquire Future for US$3.8 billion, to be completed in the first half of 2024. On April 2, 2024, WT Microelectronics of Taiwan announced it had completed the acquisition.

Leadership history

Chief Executive Officers of Future include: * Robert Gerald Miller (1968–2023) * Omar Baig-Mirza (2023–present)

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.futureelectronics.com/ Electronic component distributors Electronics companies of Canada Companies based in Pointe-Claire Business services companies established in 1968 1968 establishments in Quebec Electronics companies established in 1968 2024 mergers and acquisitions

History

Leadership history

See also

References

External links