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In March 1999, IBM named John Kelly to succeed Michael Attardo as general manager of its semiconductor operations. Attardo, who had led the operation for about 15 years, was expected to retire at the end of May and advise Kelly through the handover, according to EE Times’ March 20, 1999 report. This was a planned transition reported at the time, not a current IBM leadership change.
What IBM announced in March 1999
EE Times reported that Michael Attardo, then 57 according to the article, planned to retire from IBM at the end of May 1999. He had led the company’s semiconductor operations for about 15 years. John Kelly, 44 according to the same report, was named as his successor.
The report described Attardo as staying on in an advisory role through the end of May. It said Kelly was beginning to reorganize IBM Microelectronics around end markets rather than product segments.
Who was John Kelly?
Kelly was already working in IBM Microelectronics and had spent most of his IBM career in microelectronics, according to the 1999 report. He had helped establish the semiconductor research and development organization and had run IBM’s server division for the preceding year.
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The planned reorganization grouped the semiconductor business around markets and applications, including servers, storage, wired and wireless communications, pervasive computing, and interconnects. The reported plan signals how IBM was aligning the operation with customers’ intended uses, rather than treating product categories as the primary organizing principle.
Why the transition mattered to IBM Micro
IBM’s semiconductor operation had historically supplied chips for the company’s own systems, but by 1999 it was also selling more technology to outside customers. EE Times reported that about half of the division’s revenue then came from external chip sales. That is a period-specific figure from the 1999 article, not a current measure of IBM’s business.
Commercial sales required more than manufacturing capacity: outside customers also needed design and technical support. A December 1998 EE Times report on IBM Microelectronics’ commercialization strategy described plans involving ASICs, silicon germanium, copper interconnects, silicon-on-insulator, embedded DRAM, and partnerships. Those were strategy details reported at the time, not evidence of the division’s present-day priorities.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the reports establish—and what they do not
The March 1999 article records a planned retirement, successor appointment, and advisory handover. It does not independently confirm that Attardo’s retirement later took place, establish the length or outcome of Kelly’s tenure, or describe IBM’s current semiconductor organization. Its ages, revenue mix, and organizational plans should be understood as statements published in 1999.
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