Micron CEO Appleton Guided Company Through Ups and Downs
February 3, 2012
By Emilie Ritter Saunders
Boise-based Micron Technology CEO Steve Appleton died this morning in a single-engine plane crash at the Boise airport. Appleton was 51.
Steve Appleton joined Micron Technology in 1983. He held a series of positions including production manager, director of manufacturing and vice president of manufacturing. According to his company bio, Appleton was appointed president and chief operating officer of Micron in 1991. In 1994 Appleton became CEO.
Appleton has served on various boards including the board of directors for the Semiconductor Industry Association and National Semiconductor, Inc. He was also a member of the World Semiconductor Council and served on the Idaho Business Council. He received a bachelor of business administration degree from Boise State University in 1982 and an honorary doctorate from Boise State University in 2007.
Micron Technology is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. The company was founded in October 1978 in Boise, Idaho. Micron is one of Idaho’s largest employers with more than 5,000 employees. The company went through a series of layoffs since 2005, when it had nearly 10,000 employees in Idaho.
According to the company’s website, Micron has about 20,000 employees worldwide including locations in; California, Virginia, Canada, Puerto Rico, Italy, Scotland, Israel, Paris, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, China, India and Malaysia.
Boise Mayor David Bieter says Appleton was a dynamic leader, guiding the company through prosperous and difficult times. “He was a philanthropist and a great friend to Boise. He will be remembered as a major force in Idaho history — a man who transformed our state’s economy by redefining what is possible for Idaho business,” says Bieter. “Idaho’s future will be brighter because of Steve Appleton. My heart goes out to his family and the employees of Micron around the world.”
Former Micron CEO Appleton Leaves His Mark on Idaho, Tech World
February 3, 2012
By Molly Messick
Micron Technology CEO Steve Appleton died in a plane crash this morning. His death has been met with shock and sorrow in Boise, where Appleton was known for his influence as a business leader and philanthropist. Micron Technology remains one the state’slargest employers, despite recent cutbacks.
Retired Boise State University Professor Dick Payne, one of Steve Appleton’s early mentors, today remembered when he first met Appleton. It was on the tennis courts at the university. Appleton had character, Payne says.
“One of the things that stood out is – he never gave up,” says Payne. “He could be down a set and just pull it out. I admire that a great deal – his tenacity, honesty. He made fair calls.”
Payne says Appleton was also a promising student. “I think, ‘Here’s a guy that is going to do well.’ I had no dream that he could do so well,” Payne recalls. “I felt like – here’s a sharp guy, a good guy. And they win sometimes in this world!”
Appleton started at Micron Technology in 1983, not long after he graduated from Boise State. He began on the factory floor at the manufacturing facility, and worked his way up. In 1994, he was named CEO. Today, Governor Butch Otter said Idaho has lost a true champion.
Boise Mayor David Bieter said Appleton will be remembered as a man who transformed the state’s economy. Bieter also noted Appleton’s philanthropy. “This to all of us, feels like a loss of someone in our family. That’s really all I can compare it to,” Bieter said.
In the business world, regard for Appleton runs just as high. Last year, Appleton received the Robert N. Noyce award, the memory chip industry’s highest honor. Betsy Van Hees is an analyst with Wedbush Securities, a financial services and investment firm.
“The memory industry has been a very challenging industry over the years with many peaks and many valleys,” she says. “Steve Appleton has led Micron, this very big ship, through a very turbulent time to still be standing in a very tough market,” Van Hees says.
Since 2005, Micron Technology has laid off about half of its Idaho workers. It still employs more than 5,000 people in the state and 20,000 worldwide. Van Hees calls Appleton’s death a tragic loss for the memory chip industry, but she predicts Appleton’s vision will continue to serve the company.
“He’s got a very deep and solid bench of employees and executive leaders, so while there is concern with him not being there, that is obviously a huge loss, the company will continue to thrive and do well,” says Van Hees.
Micron president and chief operating officer Mark Durcan last week announced he would step down at the end of August. In a statement this afternoon, however, the company said Durcan will take on the responsibilities of CEO until its board of directors appoints a successor.
Hard To Separate Steve Appleton From Micron Foundation
February 23, 2012
By Adam Cotterell
Thousands are expected Thursday to pay tribute to former Micron Technology C-E-O Steve Appleton. Appleton died in a plane crash earlier this month. Thursday Idaho’s governor, Micron executives and others will speak at a public memorial at Boise State University. They’ll talk about Appleton as a businessman, an athlete, and as a philanthropist. In fact, you don’t have to go far on Boise State’s campus to see Appleton’s contributions.
Two Boise State tennis players hit the ball around after a workout at the Appleton Tennis Center. Steve Appleton went to Boise State on a tennis scholarship in the 80s. In 2001 he gave the University two million dollars to build this tennis complex. Appleton kept most of his other personal charitable contributions quiet but his work through the Micron Foundation is much more public.
Dee Mooney “Steve and the other executives at Micron felt it very important to give back to the areas where our employees live and work.”
Dee Mooney is executive director of the Micron Foundation. She says Micron donated money before the foundation was created in 1999, but it could fluctuate a lot as corporate profits see-sawed. Appleton and the rest wanted to create something more stable. Appleton was the first Director and Chairman of the foundation, a position he held until 2007. Mooney says he was very involved.
Dee Mooney “ We met prior to each board meeting and he knew exactly what gifts we would be talking about, he would ask me questions and he was very involved in going through and making those decisions.”
In 2010 the Micron foundation owned assets worth 90 million dollars and gave away or agreed to give more than 14 million. The largest recipient over the past decade, by far, is Boise State University. University President Bob Kustra says there are few CEO’s who are as hands on as Appleton was in terms of giving.
Bob Kustra “He put money up through Micron for the masters in materials science engineering. And after he saw that that produced one of the most respected materials science programs in the country he came back to me, and suggested, would you want to build a PHD on top of this.”
The Foundation gave BSU 13 million dollars just last year to create that PHD program. Other large gifts include 12 and half million dollars for the new business building, 5 million for a PHD program in electrical and computer engineering and the list goes on. Appleton even co-chaired the University’s multi-year fundraising campaign that raised 185 million dollars. But Appleton was not so hands on with all the foundation’s work. Take the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Micron is the festival’s second largest benefactor. But managing director Mark Hofflund says Steve Appleton was not closely involved.
Mark Hofflund “Well a man only has so much time. (Laughter)”
Hofflund says the arts may not have been one of Appleton’s passions but they are for other foundation members.
Mark Hofflund “And he gave them the opportunities that maybe he didn’t have the time or necessarily the interest to focus on himself.”
It’s not that Appleton didn’t give to the festival. In 1999 he donated a popular item that was auctioned to help pay for a new theater.
Mark Hofflund “Steve gave us a ride, two rides on his plane.”
Though the Micron Foundation does give to arts organizations like the Shakespeare Festival and Ballet Idaho, and community organizations like the Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA, its main focus is on education, specifically in science, technology, engineering and math. Dee Mooney says it will stay that way.
Dee Mooney “There won’t be any changes in terms of how we approach philanthropy today. And we will continue to honor Steve’s original wishes.”
Some of the foundation’s largest grants go to universities around the country and the world. Next comes public schools, mostly in Idaho. It also gives individual scholarships. But since his days on the tennis team, Boise State always came first in Steve Appleton’s heart… and Mooney says the University will continue to come first for the foundation.
Extra Training Recommended For Lancair Plane
February 7, 2012
By Scott Ki
BOISE, ID – The National Transportation Safety Board continues its investigation into what caused the accident that killed Steve Appleton. The Micron CEO was piloting a high performance aircraft from Lancair when it crashed at the Boise airport Friday. Lancair planes have been involved in dozens of accidents since 1989.
A National Transportation Safety Board database lists at least 45 Lancair aircraft accidents over 22 years. Seven of those happened with the Lancair IV-P, the type of plane Appleton piloted. An FAA “Information for Operators” from 2010 spells out some safety concerns for this type of aircraft. It says “a majority of the fatal accidents occurred due to inadvertent stall/spins while at slower air speeds. . . ” NTSB Investigator Zoe Keliher described what eyewitnesses saw when Appleton’s plane took off.
Zoe Keliher: “It did a steep bank and stalled. Thereafter, it rolled into the ground pretty much contacting the terrain inverted.”
The FAA believes accidents involving Lancair’s high performance planes are mainly due to “lack of pilot awareness.” Dick Knapinski, a spokesman for the Experimental Aircraft Association, says it’s important for pilots to understand these planes’ unique capabilities.
Dick Knapinski: “I often equate it to the difference between driving down a city street at 30 miles an hour and then driving down that same city street at 60 miles an hour.”
Knapinski recommends dedicated training if a pilot wants to fly a high speed plane like the Lancair IV-P. NTSB investigators say a preliminary report on Appleton’s crash may be out later this week.
“A Celebration of Life:” Steve Appleton’s Memorial Service
February 24, 2012
By Scott Ki
BOISE, ID – About four thousand people turned out Thursday to honor the life of former Micron Technology CEO Steve Appleton. He died in a plane crash earlier this month.
Most who came to honor Steve Appleton were Micron workers. They filled the floor and first tier of seats at Boise State’s Taco Bell arena. Seven speakers sat in front of them on a raised stage decorated with plants and flowers. Micron’s President Mark Adams welcomed the crowd.
Mark Adams: “We are fortunate today to have a collection of friends who will share their experience with Steve from many different parts of his life along his incredible journey.”
Those friends included Idaho Governor Butch Otter, Boise State’s President Bob Kustra, and new Micron CEO Mark Durcan. For the next ninety minutes, they each recounted personal stories involving Appleton. Governor Otter said Appleton was a man of few words. So if he were alive today, Otter would say these words to him:
Gov. Butch Otter: “Husband and father, legendary, businessman, a leader, innovator, Edison-esque, friend, golden. Thank you”
Otter also could have said self-made man. A snippet from a video that closed the service showed Appleton talking with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo about his first job at Micron.
Steve Appleton: “I started at $4.46 an hour working graveyard shift in production.”
Since he started in 1983, Appleton rose to Chairman and CEO of the memory chip company. Greg Patton is Boise State’s tennis coach. Appleton, who played for the team three decades ago, helped mentor some of Patton’s players. Patton remembered Appleton’s love for adventure.
Greg Patton: “He seized the moment. He lived life at the most heightened state of being ever. And you know what? I think for everybody who knew him, the beauty is you got to soar with him.”
Outside of work, Appleton was known as a philanthropist and a bit of a daredevil. He raced off-road cars and flew high performance planes. He died in one of those planes at the age of fifty-one at the Boise Airport.
How the Story Unfolded: Micron CEO Steve Appleton Dies in Plane Crash, Storifyed
February 3, 2012
By Emilie Ritter Saunders
