Vegard Wollan announced as new CEO, Svenn-Tore Larsen stepping down after 22 years as CEO
The Board of Directors of Nordic Semiconductor has appointed Vegard Wollan as new CEO of Nordic Semiconductor ASA, as Svenn-Tore Larsen is stepping down after leading the company for more than two decades.
“I am immensely proud of what the Nordic team has achieved with bold technology choices, innovative R&D and engineering, and the forging of strong long-standing relationships with globally leading customers over the years”, says Svenn-Tore Larsen.
“I am leaving a company with many opportunities and an exciting future, and we are very pleased to announce that we have an accomplished leader like Vegard to take over as I am stepping down. He is a prominent figure in the global semiconductor industry, with an exceptional background as a serial entrepreneur”, adds Larsen.
The appointment of Vegard Wollan comes after a comprehensive international search as part of a management succession program that was initiated in 2021 to safeguard the long-term strategic development of the company.
The Board of Directors wishes to express its gratitude to Svenn-Tore Larsen for his invaluable contributions over two decades with the company. Larsen first joined Nordic as a Board member in 2000 and was named CEO in 2002, leading Nordic’s journey from a small consulting company with less than USD 10 million in revenue to a global semiconductor company with revenues of USD 777 million last year and around 1,500 employees.
“Svenn-Tore has played a key role in the development of Nordic Semiconductor into a globally leading connectivity company since the turn of the millennium. His contributions have been instrumental in earning Nordic its position as a recognized leader in both the Bluetooth Low Energy market and the emerging cellular IoT market”, says Birger Steen, Chair of the Board of Nordic Semiconductor.
Larsen will be working until December 31, 2023 with Wollan joining on January 1, 2024. Incoming CEO Vegard Wollan started his career with Nordic VLSI, which later became Nordic Semiconductor. As one of the inventor team behind the AVR microcontroller technology, Wollan in 1996 joined Atmel where he built a highly profitable high-margin USD 1 billion revenue business as VP and General Manager of the Touch and MCU Business Unit. Atmel was acquired by Microchip Technology in 2016, and Wollan went on to establish Mywo. In 2021, Mywo was merged into TouchNetix, a global innovation leader in touch technologies, where Wollan currently is the CEO.
“TouchNetix is on an exciting journey, and I am leaving a great company well positioned for the future. Now I am returning to my roots in Nordic, which has grown to become an internationally recognized industry leader. I am impressed by what Svenn-Tore and his team has created and hope to bring with me new approaches to develop the organization and generate profitable growth in the years to come”, says Vegard Wollan.