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STEVE APPLETON
POSTED BY EIZ ON THURSDAY, 19 JANUARY, 2012, 7:14 AM
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Steve-Appleton.png Micron Technology said yesterday it has appointed D. Mark Durcan to replace chief executive Steve Appleton, who died Friday when the small experimental plane he was piloting crashed at the Boise airport. Durcan was previously Micron's president and ... Share |
STEVE APPLETON
Posted byo Eiz n Thursday, 19 January, 2012, 7:14 AM
Micron Technology said yesterday it has appointed D. Mark Durcan to replace chief executive Steve Appleton, who died Friday when the small experimental plane he was piloting crashed at the Boise airport.
Durcan was previously Micron’s president and chief operating officer. While the loss of Appleton, the long time CEO, is devastating, the largest American manufacturer of memory chips has had the advantage of having stable management for a long time. Part of the reason is that its Boise, Idaho-based location is far removed from other chip companies that might poach employees. But Micron has also been an exceedingly well-run company in a volatile pricesensitive industry.
Durcan, 51, will be joined by Robert Switz, who will succeed Appleton as chairman of the board. And Mark W. Adams will serve as president. Switz has been a director since 2006 and is the former CEO of ADC Telecommunications.
Appleton’s shoes will be hard to fill. He was a popular executive who was awarded the chip industry’s highest honor, the Robert N. Noyce award, by the Semiconductor Industry Association last fall.
During that award ceremony, Analog Devices chairman Ray Stata said that Appleton was a “daredevil at heart.” Appleton flew stunt planes, raced motorcycles, wakeboarding, scuba diving and offroad racing. He was a black belt in taekwondo. In the Tecate Score Baja 1000 offroad race, Appleton finished first in the dune buggy race.
But that daredevil life took its toll in the end. On Friday, Appleton was killed while attempting an emergency landing in a Lancair IV-PT turboprop plane.
“We are deeply saddened by Steve’s loss and will miss his hand at the helm,” Mr. Durcan said in the company’s statement. “I have provided the board my ongoing commitment to work with the management team and continue to move the company forward.”