Dr. Leo Li to become next CEO of Imagination

　　It has been announced that Dr. Leo Li is to become the next CEO of Imagination.

　　Currently Chairman of the Global Semiconductor Alliance Dr. Li is a well-known figure in the semiconductor industry and has over 30 years of industry experience. Recently he was chairman, CEO and president of Spreadtrum Communications and chairman of RDA before becoming Co-President at Tsinghua Unigroup.

　　During his nine-year tenure at Spreadtrum, Dr. Li drove a focus on continuous innovation, quality control, and customer relationship management and helped grow revenue from $100 million to $2 billion and increased the company’s market value from $35 million to $7.5 billion.

　　He brings extensive experience of working in both the US and in China, two of Imagination’s major markets, and his appointment is seen as supporting the company’s strategy of expanding into China and bridging the gap between US, Europe and Asia.

　　Imagination is already developing its presence in China, one of the largest semiconductor markets in the world, through a number of new licence deals and design-ins.The company is focused on creating and licensing a broad range of silicon intellectual property.

　　Dr. Li replaces Andrew Heath, who has led Imagination since February 2016 and was responsible for first returning the company to profitability and then brokering the sale of the company to US based private equity firm Canyon Bridge.

　　Commenting on his appointment Dr. Li said: “We have a strong strategy today to evolve the company to the next level of success by capitalising on the opportunities in other markets, particularly China, one of the largest semiconductor markets in the world. We will have a renewed focus on technology innovation through strengthening our R&D capabilities, making Imagination a clear global technology leader again, and bringing value to our customers."