10 Things You Didn’t Know about Texas Instruments CEO Rich Templeton
Rich Templeton is both the CEO and the Chairman of Texas Instruments. He stepped down for a short time in mid 2018 but has since resumed his position because of some kind of violation that was serious enough to warrant the ousting of his successor. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Rich Templeton:
1. Richard Is a Very Popular Name
Richard is a very popular name. For proof, look no further than the fact it has counterparts in a wide range of regions. Some examples include the Irish Riocard, the Italian Riccardo, and the Polish Ryszard.
2. Templeton Come from a Place
Templeton comes from a place called Templeton, which is why a lot of the people who bear the name can trace their ancestries to Ayrshire where it is situated. As for its meaning, it is a combination of two elements, with one meaning a pre-Christian place of worship and the other meaning either a town or a homestead.
3. Went to Union College
For his education, Templeton went to a school called Union College, which is a private liberal arts college that can be found in the state of New York. Said school has a long, distinguished history, seeing as how it is the first institution of higher learning to have been chartered by the New York State Board of Regents.
4. Studied Electrical Engineering
In school, Templeton studied electrical engineering. As a result, when he graduated, he was able to secure a job at Texas Instruments. He has remained there ever since.
5. Headed Up Semiconductors Business
Over the course of his career, Templeton has worked in various components of Texas Instruments. One excellent example is how he once headed up its semiconductors business, referring to materials that possess electrical conductivity between that of metals and insulators. As such, said materials are very important, so much so that the computerization of the modern world would not have been possible without their use in computer chips.
6. Went On to Become COO
From 2000 to 2004, Templeton served as the COO of Texas Instruments. In short, the COO is the Chief Operating Officer, meaning that the position is the one responsible for overseeing the operations. Due to this, COOs tend to report whoever is in charge, which means the CEO in most cases.
7. Took Some Time Before Becoming Chairman
The CEO is responsible for running a corporation, while the Chairman of the Board is responsible for making sure that the corporation is being run in a manner that will enable it to fulfill its obligations to its shareholders. The two positions are not synonymous, though it isn’t uncommon for the same individuals to occupy both positions for the same corporations. In the case of Templeton, he became CEO in 2004 and Chairman in 2008.
8. His Successor Was Ousted for Breaching Code of Conduct
Templeton stepped down in the middle of 2018. However, his successor was ousted in six weeks because he had violated Texas Instruments’s code of conduct. It seems that the violation was personal in nature, meaning that it had no connection to how the corporation was being run. As a result, Templeton was restored to his position as CEO, which is not a short-term solution while the Board searches for another successor but rather something that is meant to remain true for the foreseeable future.
9. Skeptical of the Internet of Things
When asked about the Internet of Things, Templeton expressed a sense of skepticism. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, it refers to the increasing inter-connectivity of a wide range of everyday devices, which is supposed to enable them to collect more information that can be used to improve their functions for their users. One simple example would be a thermostat that can receive information that a homeowner is heading homewards so that it can adjust the temperature to something more comfortable.
10. Doesn’t Like Buzzwords
One of the reasons that Templeton is skeptical of the Internet of Things is because he doesn’t like buzzwords, which suggest something that will over-promise and under-deliver to him. This doesn’t mean that Templeton doesn’t see the usefulness of interconnected devices, just that he isn’t convinced that the Internet of Things will be as widespread as some of its more fervent advocates are predicting. In more practical terms, he doesn’t see why anyone would want inter-connectivity on something like, say, garbage disposals.
