Today I read an interesting interview and an insight look into T.J. Rodgers, of San Jose's Cypress Semiconductor. and of SunPower by Declan McCullagh of CNET News. SunPower has been a regular news in this blog and I am sure there will be more. Follow the link at the end of the post to read the first part of the interview.
Cypress's product catalog includes things like programmable logic devices, USB controllers, and SRAM chips--the basic building blocks of modern gadgets and computers.
Today in Silicon Valley, though, Rodgers is just as well known for his role in buying and building up SunPower, which sells rooftop solar systems that provide power at prices competitive with utility rates. SunPower's market capitalization is more than $5 billion, which isn't bad for a company that Rodgers kept alive with his own money until his board came around.
In the political world, Rodgers is famous for his plain-spoken approach and verbal skewering of his opponents, who have included everyone from Jesse Jackson (complaining about the so-called digital divide) to a nun from the Sisters of St. Francis on Philadelphia. Sister Doris Gormley wanted racial and gender quotas for Cypress' board; Rodgers responded in detail, saying her advice was "immoral" and "we pursue talent--and we don't care in what package that talent comes."
Rodgers recently married Valeta Massey in a ceremony at the Fairmont hotel in San Jose. In a choreographed ceremony, he had a faux IRS agent stand up and object to the nuptials on grounds that the U.S. treasury would lose money. Silicon Valley uber-lawyer Larry Sonsini provided some on-the-spot legal advice, and bagpipers provided a counterpoint.
This buccaneering, free-market spirit makes Rodgers an interesting fellow to interview, so I did. Here's a lightly edited (I abbreviated some of my questions and some of his answers) transcript of our conversation from last month. Part two will follow Friday.
Interview with T.J. Rodgers, of San Jose's Cypress Semiconductor.
tag: renewable energy, SunPower, Cypress Semiconductor.
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