The Journey of Microchip’s Radical Transformation – A Chandler 100 Company
August 01, 2023
Terri Kimble, President & CEO of the Chandler Chamber of Commerce, conducted an interview with Steve Sanghi, Executive Chair of Microchip Technologies.
Microchip Technology went from a failing company losing $10 million a year to one of the most successful semiconductor suppliers in the world gaining a global revenue of over $8 billion a year. The leader behind this transformation? Steve Sanghi, Executive Chair of Microchip.
He shares his journey of transforming Microchip into a semiconductor juggernaut, a top 10 Chandler 100 company with headquarters in Chandler, AZ, in his latest book, Up and to the Right.
When Sanghi was named the President of Microchip in 1990, the company was losing millions of dollars and he knew something needed to change. With his executive team, they developed the aggregate system with a goal to “redesign the enterprise in which all of the resources, strategies, goals, actions, and employees work in unison¨. Microchip began to make a profit.
Fast forward to the economic recession of 2008, the semiconductor industry plummeted but Sanghi and his team came up with a strategy to stay open and avoid layoffs. Sanghi recalled that although employees worldwide received a 10% pay cut, employees stayed loyal to Microchip. When the economy came back, Microchip was one of a handful of semiconductor companies still running -- the following year, they grew 57%.
Although Microchip was financially doing well, it was at a skill disadvantage. The company wanted to scale up to its competitors and manufacture a variety of computer parts. Over the next 13 years, Sanghi led the company through 20 successful acquisitions. Not only did Microchip grow its revenue, but they increased its capabilities.
Sanghi said acquisitions were very difficult because they would acquire employees that were marching to different values, skills, and goals. His leadership team set goals with every acquisition and used the aggregate system as a method to encourage new employees to work in unison. He developed a company culture of success, confidence, loyalty, and innovation and in return, employees believed in the company and so did the rest of the world. Sanghi took Microchip from the jaws of bankruptcy to becoming the most respected, profitable and meaningful semiconductor company in the world.
He hopes ¨the youth learn to look up to scientists, engineers and inventors as heroes of society¨ through robotics. Microchip sponsors youth robotics competitions organized by AZFirst, a 501(C) foundation, to show students the value of science, math, and engineering. Students develop real life skills while solving practical problems in an intense and competitive environment. People will say the competition is about students building robots, but Sanghi argues ¨its robots who build the students ¨.
Image 1. Front Cover of Up and to the Right: My personal and business journey building the Microchip Technology juggernaut by Steve Sangi
Image 2. Terri Kimble, President & CEO of the Chandler Chamber of Commerce, pictured with Steve Sanghi, Executive Chair of Microchip Technologies.
Microchip Technology went from a failing company losing $10 million a year to one of the most successful semiconductor suppliers in the world gaining a global revenue of over $8 billion a year. The leader behind this transformation? Steve Sanghi, Executive Chair of Microchip.
He shares his journey of transforming Microchip into a semiconductor juggernaut, a top 10 Chandler 100 company with headquarters in Chandler, AZ, in his latest book, Up and to the Right.
When Sanghi was named the President of Microchip in 1990, the company was losing millions of dollars and he knew something needed to change. With his executive team, they developed the aggregate system with a goal to “redesign the enterprise in which all of the resources, strategies, goals, actions, and employees work in unison¨. Microchip began to make a profit.
Fast forward to the economic recession of 2008, the semiconductor industry plummeted but Sanghi and his team came up with a strategy to stay open and avoid layoffs. Sanghi recalled that although employees worldwide received a 10% pay cut, employees stayed loyal to Microchip. When the economy came back, Microchip was one of a handful of semiconductor companies still running -- the following year, they grew 57%.
Although Microchip was financially doing well, it was at a skill disadvantage. The company wanted to scale up to its competitors and manufacture a variety of computer parts. Over the next 13 years, Sanghi led the company through 20 successful acquisitions. Not only did Microchip grow its revenue, but they increased its capabilities.
Sanghi said acquisitions were very difficult because they would acquire employees that were marching to different values, skills, and goals. His leadership team set goals with every acquisition and used the aggregate system as a method to encourage new employees to work in unison. He developed a company culture of success, confidence, loyalty, and innovation and in return, employees believed in the company and so did the rest of the world. Sanghi took Microchip from the jaws of bankruptcy to becoming the most respected, profitable and meaningful semiconductor company in the world.
He hopes ¨the youth learn to look up to scientists, engineers and inventors as heroes of society¨ through robotics. Microchip sponsors youth robotics competitions organized by AZFirst, a 501(C) foundation, to show students the value of science, math, and engineering. Students develop real life skills while solving practical problems in an intense and competitive environment. People will say the competition is about students building robots, but Sanghi argues ¨its robots who build the students ¨.
Image 1. Front Cover of Up and to the Right: My personal and business journey building the Microchip Technology juggernaut by Steve Sangi
Image 2. Terri Kimble, President & CEO of the Chandler Chamber of Commerce, pictured with Steve Sanghi, Executive Chair of Microchip Technologies.
