5 January 2011

Amalfi recruits RF Magic co-founder as CEO

Amalfi Semiconductor of Los Gatos, CA, USA, a fabless firm developing CMOS-based radio-frequency (RF) and mixed-signal semiconductors for cellular mobile handsets, has recruited Mark Foley as CEO.

The firm says that Foley has proven management experience, knowledge and vision in the RF semiconductor industry targeted at high-volume consumer electronics. “We were looking for a combination of management qualities and industry experience that would help grow Amalfi into a multi-million dollar company,” says board member Ken Lawler, a general partner at Battery Ventures. Foley has a proven track record of growing a company from inception to a multimillion-dollar high-gross-margin business, he adds.

Foley has more than 28 years experience as an entrepreneur and executive in the RF semiconductor and component market. Most recently, he was CEO of NuTune Singapore Pte Ltd, a joint venture between NXP Semiconductor and Technicolor for the development of CAN tuners for TVs and set-top boxes.

Previously, Foley was co-founder & CEO of fabless firm RF Magic. As CEO, he built a viable, diversified semiconductor company with multiple product lines and eight consecutive profitable quarters. The firm eventually merged with Entropic, where Foley took the role of president & chief operating officer and led an initial public offering (IPO) that raised $50m.

Prior to RF Magic, Foley had management and engineering roles in several RF semiconductor- and component-related firms, including Conexant Systems Inc, ComStream Corp, Adams-Russell Electronics Inc, and Ford Aerospace.

“Amalfi has shown great success in revolutionizing and improving the performance curve of power amplifier technology in cellular handsets,” comments Foley.

In 2009, Amalfi launched the industry’s first CMOS transmit module for cellular handsets. The firm claims that, compared with traditional gallium arsenide (GaAs) transmit modules for cellular handsets, its product offers better performance and significant cost savings. Specifically, it claims that its proprietary AdaptiveRF silicon architecture has proven to increase the battery life or talk time of cellular handsets while decreasing the footprint and cost of front-end cellular handset designs. Products are currently shipping to cellular handset manufacturers in millions of units per month.

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