News

Power Integrations Taps Steven Sharp as Non-Executive Chairman

May 07, 2006 by Jeff Shepard

Power Integrations today announced that Steven J. Sharp has been elected non-executive chairman of the company's board of directors, succeeding Howard Earhart. Mr. Earhart, the company's chief executive officer from 1995 until 2002, served as non-executive chairman from 2002 until his resignation last week.

Mr. Sharp has served as a director of Power Integrations since the company's inception in 1988, and is also a member of the board's nominating and corporate governance committee. From 1991 until 2002, Mr. Sharp was chairman and CEO of TriQuint Semiconductor, a manufacturer of electronic components for the communications industry. He currently serves as non-executive chairman of TriQuint. In addition, he is vice chair of the Oregon chapter of the American Electronics Association, and heads a private foundation that funds research to find the causes of ADD (attention deficit disorder).

Mr. Sharp is a 45-year veteran of the semiconductor industry and has served in director/officer roles in the formative years of Power Integrations, TriQuint, Megatest (now Teradyne), Crystal Semiconductor (now Cirrus Logic), Silicon Architects (now Synopsys) and Volterra. He qualifies as an independent director of Power Integrations according to Nasdaq and SEC rules.

"I am proud to take on the role of non-executive chairman of Power Integrations," said Mr. Sharp. "I believe that Power Integrations has an extremely bright future as the leader in high-voltage power conversion technology, and I look forward to working with CEO Balu Balakrishnan as he and his management team continue to execute their growth strategy."