14 DAY TRIAL // Micron definitely has no reasons to rejoice today, and neither does the semiconductor industry at large: Steve Appleton, Micron's chief executive officer, has passed away.
News of someone's death is disheartening by default, but Steve Appleton is going to leave many people mourning, not just his wife and children.
The man is, or was, one of the IT industry's most noteworthy people, even if the news didn't talk about him as much as it did about others.
Simply put, he worked for what he got, and he definitely had success and brought it to Micron as a whole.
A plane wreck took his life yesterday (Friday, February 3, 2012) after having served as Micron's CEO since 1994. He was 51 years old.
This is an unfortunate case when a person is killed by his own hobby.
He actually survived a plane crash back in 2004, and got severely injured as a result, but he pulled through. It looks like he wasn't able to cheat death a second time.
1994-2012 is a period of about 18 years, during which he guided Micron through several global crisis periods in different industries. He also managed to get the company to absorb more technologies and businesses.
Nevertheless, what is, arguably, even more noteworthy is his tenure prior to holding the leadership title.
Appleton started his career at Micron after graduating in 1983. His post was pretty humble, working the night shift in production.
As time went on, he climbed through the ranks, bit by bit, going to wafer fab manager, production manager, director of manufacturing and vice president of manufacturing, before finally getting named CEO.
"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Appleton, Micron chairman and CEO, passed away this morning in a small plane accident in Boise, Idaho,” reads a statement by Micron.
“Our hearts go out to his wife, Dalynn, his children and his family during this tragic time. Steve's passion and energy left an indelible mark on Micron, the Idaho community and the technology industry at large."