FREng
Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) is an award and Scholarship, fellowship for engineers who are recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering as being the best and brightest engineers, inventors and technologists in the UK a ...
HonFRS (born 4 February 1947) is an English engineer who was chief executive and then chairman of ARM Holdings, which he built to become a dominant supplier of
embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is ''embedded'' ...
s.
Early life and education
Saxby was born in 1947 in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
. He attended the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
, where he gained a
Bachelor of Engineering
A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university.
In the UK, a Ba ...
degree in Electronics in 1968.
Career
Saxby had an electronics kit at the age of eight and a television repair business at the age of 14. Reflecting on this in 2006, he considered himself "destined for the electronics industry". He worked at Rank Bush Murphy, Pye,
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...
and Henderson Security. Immediately prior to his appointment at ARM, he worked at European Silicon Structures.
In 1991 he joined
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
-based ARM as their first chief executive officer (CEO) and built it to "a global giant" with offices round the world. He was chief executive from 1991 to 2001, and subsequently chairman from 2001 to 2006. It was at ARM that he made his real impact on the electronic industry. When he was appointed CEO in 1991, he took 12 engineers from
Acorn Computers
Acorn Computers Ltd. was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers which were especially popular in the UK, including the Acorn Electron and the Acorn Archimedes. Acorn's ...
into the newly formed joint venture between Acorn and
Apple Inc
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
. With a limited budget of a $1.5 million investment from Apple, he made those 12 engineers into one of the most formidable management teams in the industry. In a memorable early meeting, he persuaded one of the engineers to volunteer to become the vice president (VP) of marketing, another the VP of sales, and so on. Saxby also introduced the licensing model for selling
microprocessor
A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circ ...
s, which led to a 95% market share in the mobile phone sector. With a similar success in other sectors, he has made ARM into the world's most successful processor company, with over 50 billion units shipped to date. During his 10 years as CEO, he made ARM the most valuable company in the Cambridge cluster, with a market capitalisation of over $10bn. ARM under his leadership became a global company with offices in many countries and licences taken by all significant
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...
companies in the world. This is a unique achievement for a British company, especially in electronics.
Since his retirement from ARM, he has become a tireless promoter of young entrepreneurs and is involved in a number of start-up companies which he supports with advice, finance and infinite patience. He has dedicated time to mentoring young entrepreneurs, helping them through difficult times and never losing faith in them.
Honours and awards
Saxby is a chartered engineer, an honorary fellow of the IET and a
fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Es ...
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...
.
He received the Faraday Medal of the IEE (now the
IET __NOTOC__
IET can refer to:
Organizations
* Institute of Educational Technology, part of the Open University
* Institution of Engineering and Technology, a UK-based professional engineering institution
** Institute of Engineers and Technicians, wh ...
). He was
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
ed in the
2002 New Year Honours
New Years' Honours are announced on or around the date of the New Year in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to the London Ga ...
List. He became president of the IET on 1 October 2006IET press release and stepped down on 30 September 2007. In 2013 he presented the IET prestigious
Pinkerton Lecture The Pinkerton lecture series is held by the Institution of Engineering and Technology in commemoration and honour of John Pinkerton, the pivotal engineer who was involved with designing the UK's first business computer in 1951. The first lecture was ...
at the Infosys auditorium in Bangalore, India. He was president of the Old Cestrefeldians Society 2012/13. Saxby was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2015. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:
Saxby received the 2019 IEEE Founders Medal “For achievements in developing a globally successful electronics enterprise with an innovative approach to licensing of Intellectual Property.”
Personal life
Saxby married Patricia Bell in 1970. They have a son and a daughter.