Ed Zander, chairman and CEO of Motorola, said the appointment of Mayer, a native of France, came after an extensive search and "reinforces Freescale's global focus."

Mayer spent almost 20 years at IBM, rising to the top job at the microelectronics division in mid-2001. He played a key role in the transition that focused on high-end foundry, abandoning development of most of IBM's own commercial product development in set-top boxes, wireless and other markets.

When IBM's chip yields foundered at its new 300-mm Fishkill fab, the microelectronics division went through a restructuring. Mayer was replaced in August 2003 as general manager by John E. Kelly III, vice president of the IBM technology group that had included semiconductors and disk drives.

Motorola named Scott Anderson as CEO of the semiconductor products sector (SPS) in June 2003, succeeding Fred Shlapak. However, when Motorola decided to spin out Freescale as a separate business unit, some stock analysts urged that Zander look outside for a new Freescale CEO who would be unencumbered by longstanding personal relationships there.

Anderson is expected to remain with Freescale as president, while Mayer holds the positions of chairman and CEO.

By: DocMemory
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