Paul E. Jacobs (born October 30, 1962) is an American businessman and the former executive chairman of Qualcomm.

Family and education

Jacobs was born to a Jewish family, the son of Joan (née Klein) and Irwin M. Jacobs. His father was co-founder of

Linkabit Linkabit was a technology company founded in 1968 by Irwin M. Jacobs, Andrew Viterbi and Leonard Kleinrock. Linkabit alumni have created a large number of technology companies, most notably, Qualcomm. Linkabit is now a division of L3Harris Tec ...

and Qualcomm. He has three brothers: Gary E. Jacobs (born 1958), Hal Jacobs (born 1960), and Jeffrey A. Jacobs (born 1966).San Diego Tribune: "Jacobs Brothers Finally Getting in the Hoops Business" by Kevin Acee
March 30, 2013 His niece Sara Jacobs represent's

California's 53rd congressional district California's 53rd congressional district was a former congressional district in the U.S. state of California. It was last represented by Sara Jacobs, who succeeded Susan Davis following the 2020 election. It was eliminated following the 2 ...

in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. He earned a bachelor's in Engineering and Computer Science in 1984, an MS degree in Electrical Engineering in 1986, and a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1989 from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Career

Jacobs has been executive chairman of Qualcomm since March 2009. He had been the chief executive officer (CEO) from July 2005 to March 2014, and previous to that date was the president of Qualcomm Wireless and Internet Group from July 2001. Jacobs started with the company as an engineer in the wireless technology development group in 1990. In December 2013, Qualcomm announced that Jacobs would step down as CEO and be replaced by president and COO Steve Mollenkopf from March 2014.Paul Jacobs to step down as Qualcomm CEO; Steve Mollenkopf to take over
BGR.in On May 28, 2013, Jacobs along with his three brothers became minority owners in the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

in a partnership with

Vivek Ranadivé Vivek Yeshwant Ranadivé (; born 7 October 1957) is an Indian-American business executive, engineer, author, speaker and philanthropist.D'Agostino, RyanThe Man Who Knows Everything ''Esquire''. 19 January 2012. Ranadivé is the founder and form ...

and

Mark Mastrov Mark S. Mastrov is an American businessman who is the founder and former CEO of 24 Hour Fitness. He is also part of the Sacramento Kings ownership group. Career The 24 Hour Fitness began in 1983 as a one-club operation called 24 Hour Nautilus. ...

. The NBA approved the sale on May 28. In 2015, Jacobs aided in the funding of Heal, a company that created a mobile app to allow for physician house calls at the press of a button. In 2016, Jacobs was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

for leadership in the design, development, and worldwide commercialization of wireless products and services. In March 2018 Qualcomm announced that Jacobs would be stepping down as the company's executive chairman. On March 16, 2018, Qualcomm removed Jacobs from its board, after he "broached a long-shot bid" for a buyout earlier that week. The company also announced that Jacobs would not be re-nominated to its board of directors at the March 23 annual stockholder meeting. “The board reached that decision following his notification to the Board that he has decided to explore the possibility of making a proposal to acquire Qualcomm,” the company said, adding that its board will consist of 10 directors at the meeting.

Awards and recognition

In 2015 he received the Distinguished Industry Leader Award, and in 2014 received the IEEE Ernst Weber Managerial Leadership Award. His other awards include: * 2007–2014 Institutional Investor, List of America's Best (Telecom Sector) - Best CEO * 2008 Berkeley Engineering Innovation Award * 2008 Radio Club of America, The Sarnoff Citation * 2009 IEEE CASS Industrial Pioneer Award * 2010 Higginbotham Corporate Leadership Award * 2011 Laptop Magazine, 25 Most Influential People in Mobile * 2011 NCAFP Global Business Leadership Award * 2011–2012 Global Telecoms Business, Power 100 * 2012 VentureBeat, Top Ten Mobile Movers * 2012 FORTUNE, Ten Brilliant Technology Visionaries * 2012 Samsung Award of Honor * 2013 Sesame Workshop, Corporate Leadership Award * 2013

Edison Achievement Award Edison Awards is an American company that runs an annual competition honoring excellence in innovation in a broad range of categories. Company The Edison Awards were established by the American Marketing Association in 1987 and has been an in ...

* 2014 GSMA Chairman's Award * 2016

Personal life

In 1993, Jacobs married Stacey Jacobs;San Diego Reader: "Amidst Jacobs family crack-ups, can charity prevail? - Facing fight over park bulldozing, San Diego's richest man endures domestic ruptures" by Matt Potter
July 14, 2016 , ''Married in October 1991, the couple separated in September 2013, a month before their 22nd anniversary''San Diego Reader: "Irwin Jacobs' 50-year-old son, Jeff, pops question to 29-year-old La Jolla fashionista" by Matt Potter
November 9, 2016 they had three children.California Magazine UC Berkeley Alumni Association: "A Life And Career By Design: Qualcomm Exec Paul Jacobs - Engineer and Qualcomm Executive Chairman Paul Jacobs is 2017 Alumnus of the Year" By Bill Snyder
Summer 2017 , ''He also gets some exercise keeping up with his youngest daughter, a toddler, born to Jacobs and his second wife, Geneviève, in 2016. His earlier marriage, to Stacy Jacobs (’84 B.A. in physiology, ’87 B.S. in optometry, and ’89 O.D.), produced three children but ended after nearly 22 years.'' The couple divorced in 2013. In 2016, he married French-Canadian Geneviève Tremblay;Montreal TV: "Le plus gros mariage de l’année à Montréal a eu lieu ce week-end avec Seal en vedette"
June 2016 they have two daughters together.

References

External links

- '' Business Week'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Paul E. 1962 births Living people American technology chief executives UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni Qualcomm people Jewish American sportspeople Jacobs family (telecom) 21st-century American Jews