1999-10-04 , ESC-9986
Business News From Philips Semiconductors

Following Philips' acquisition of VLSI Technology, Inc. (San Jose, CA,.USA)earlier this year, Thierry Laurent, former senior vice president and general manager of VLSI's Communications Product Group, has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Philips Semiconductors' Telecom Terminals business unit. This appointment, which places Laurent on the management team of Europe's leading semiconductor suppliers, demonstrates Philips commitment to a full and active integration of VLSI into the Philips organization.

Laurent, who prior to VLSI had worked with Texas Instruments, France and Advanced Micro Devices in the USA., succeeds Hein van der Zeeuw, who has joined Philips Components Product Division, heading up Philips Optical Storage.

Philips Semiconductors contributes technology to over half of all handsets manufactured worldwide and its comprehensive technology portfolio now includes strengths in all the key telecommunications competencies including RF, digital/analog baseband, power management, display drivers and protocol software. Philips Semiconductors and VLSI together are now one of the top three companies in handset semiconductors. With the future set to be driven by the convergence of communications and consumer technologies, the Telecom Terminals business unit is focussing on silicon solutions that enable rapid wireless remote access to information through mobile Internet, personal multimedia, speech processing and Bluetooth networking.

"I'm delighted to be heading up this dynamic business unit within Philips Semiconductors," confirmed Thierry Laurent. "With demand for worldwide wireless handsets expected to grow by over 360% by 2003, Philips Semiconductors is in a great position to lead the field. We have all key competencies in-house, enabling us to drive technology standards and ensure our customers have access to the best technologies needed to get their products to market more rapidly than ever before."

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the eighth largest semiconductor supplier in the world. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video, and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world and are supported by systems labs. Additional information on Philips Semiconductors can be obtained by accessing its home page at http://www.semiconductors.philips.com