Qualcomm Appoints Dr. James H. Thompson as Chief Technology Officer

Qualcomm Incorporated has announced that it has appointed Dr. James H. Thompson, Executive Vice President of Engineering, Qualcomm Technologies, to the additional position of Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Matt Grob, currently executive vice president, Qualcomm Technologies and CTO, will transition to the role of executive vice president of technology, Qualcomm Technologies, and continue to report to Steve Mollenkopf.

In addition to continuing to lead QCT engineering as CTO, Thompson will be tasked with aligning the companywide technical and product roadmaps across all business areas. He also will have oversight of the Corporate R&D and Corporate Engineering divisions, with the goal of ensuring that all research and development activities are coordinated across the company, and driving the development of next-generation wireless technologies.

“Jim is a seasoned veteran within the mobile industry and brings strong technology and product leadership to continue to drive the invention of technologies at speed and scale, and to continue Qualcomm's more than 30-year history of innovation,” said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO, Qualcomm Incorporated. “For nearly six years, Matt has played a critical role in leading Qualcomm's reputation for technology excellence and we look forward to continue working with Matt in his new role.”

Thompson has been a member of Qualcomm's Executive Committee since 2012 and has led QCT engineering since 2004 with responsibility for creating and executing on its industry-leading roadmap. Throughout his tenure, Thompson has served in critical engineering leadership roles as the company established its leads in WCDMA, LTE, Wi-Fi, camera, video, graphics, audio and DSP technologies. Thompson received his bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Qualcomm has been making moves in the IoT space and within its walls to improve its IoT-related practices at an accelerating rate over the last several months, and this is yet another piece of evidence that it’s on the upswing and more big news is on the way.