The Opus College of Engineering’s Connecting with the World lecture series will host Charles (Chuck) Swoboda, Marquette alumnus, retired chairman, and chief executive officer of Cree, Inc., Friday, Feb. 2, from noon to 1 p.m. in Olin Engineering 202.
Cree, Inc. is a technology pioneer in LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor solutions for wireless and power applications. Under Swoboda’s leadership, the company grew from just over $6 million in annual revenue in 1993 to over $1.6 billion as they transformed from a start-up into a global market leader with 6,500 employees worldwide. The company led the LED Lighting Revolution by developing innovative, energy-efficient, smart LED lighting that fundamentally changed the way people experience light and drove the obsolescence of the Edison light bulb. The presentation, “In Search of Better Light: My Career Pursuing Disruptive Innovation,” will focus on how they used a strategy of disruptive innovations to build the company, from a CEO’s perspective.
Swoboda holds an engineering degree from Marquette University, where he served on the Board of Trustees for 12 years, including two as chairman. He is a co-inventor on 24 U.S. patents covering LED and lighting related technology.
The event is free and open to the public thanks to the Opus Deanship Endowment which provides funds for this series.