Sir Robin Keith Saxby (born 4 February 1947)
[ is an English engineer who was chief executive and then chairman of ]ARM Holdings
Arm Holdings plc (formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a British semiconductor and software design company based in Cambridge, England, whose primary business is the design of central processing ...
, which he built to become a dominant supplier of embedded system
An embedded system is a specialized computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is e ...
s.
Early life and education
Saxby was born in 1947 in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
and was educated at Chesterfield Grammar School
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
*Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constituen ...
,[ a boys' ]grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
. He attended the University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...
, where he gained a Bachelor of Engineering
A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution.
In the United Kingdom, a Ba ...
degree in Electronics in 1968.[
]
Career
Saxby had an electronics kit at the age of eight and a television repair business at the age of 14. Reflecting on this in 2006, he considered himself "destined for the electronics industry". He worked at Rank Bush Murphy, Pye, Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...
and Henderson Security. Immediately prior to his appointment at ARM, he worked at European Silicon Structures.[
In 1991 he joined ]Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
-based ARM as their first chief executive officer (CEO) and built it to "a global giant" with offices round the world. He was chief executive from 1991 to 2001, and subsequently chairman from 2001 to 2006. When he was appointed CEO in 1991, he took 12 engineers from Acorn Computers
Acorn Computers Ltd. was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England in 1978 by Hermann Hauser, Christopher Curry (businessman), Chris Curry and Andy Hopper. The company produced a number of computers during the 1980s with asso ...
into the newly formed joint venture between Acorn and Apple Inc
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer ...
, with an $1.5 million investment from Apple. Saxby introduced the licensing model for selling microprocessor
A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...
s, which led to a 95% market share in the mobile phone sector. Arm is now into the world's most successful processor company, with over 50 billion units shipped to date.[ During his 10 years as CEO, ARM became the most valuable company in the Cambridge cluster, with a market capitalisation of over $10bn. ARM under his leadership became a global company with offices in many countries and licences taken by all significant ]semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping level ...
companies in the world.[
Since his retirement from ARM, he has become a promoter of young entrepreneurs and is involved in a number of start-up companies which he supports with advice and finance.]
Honours and awards
Saxby is a chartered engineer, an honorary fellow of the IET and a fellow
A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of the Royal Academy of Engineering
The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering.
The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...
. He has honorary doctorates from the University of Liverpool (where he is a visiting professor), Loughborough University
Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...
, the University of Essex
The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...
, Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...
and Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public research university in the region of East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins date back to the Cambridge School of Art (CSA), founded by William John Beamont, a Fellow of Trinity College at the Unive ...
.
He received the Faraday Medal of the IEE (now the IET __NOTOC__
IET can refer to:
Organizations
* Institute of Educational Technology, part of the Open University
* Institution of Engineering and Technology, a UK-based professional engineering institution
** Institute of Engineers and Technicians, wh ...
). He was knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
ed in the 2002 New Year Honours List. He became president of the IET on 1 October 2006IET press release
and stepped down on 30 September 2007. In 2013 he presented the IET prestigious Pinkerton Lecture at the Infosys auditorium in Bangalore, India. He was president of the Old Cestrefeldians Society 2012/13. Saxby was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2015.[ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: ]
Saxby received the 2019 IEEE Founders Medal “For achievements in developing a globally successful electronics enterprise with an innovative approach to licensing of Intellectual Property.”
Personal life
Saxby married Patricia Bell in 1970. They have a son and a daughter.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxby, Robin
Living people
1947 births
People from Chesterfield, Derbyshire
People educated at Chesterfield Grammar School
Alumni of the University of Liverpool
English chief executives
British electronics engineers
English engineers
Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society
Knights Bachelor
Businesspeople awarded knighthoods
Arm Holdings people