Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra to Receive Semiconductor Industry’s Top Honor

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The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced Sanjay Mehrotra, president and CEO of Micron Technology, as the 2023 recipient of SIA’s highest honor, the Robert N. Noyce Award.

SIA presents the Noyce Award annually in recognition of a leader who has made outstanding contributions to the semiconductor industry in technology or public policy. Mehrotra will accept the award at the SIA Awards Dinner on Nov. 16, 2023, in San Jose, Calif.

“Sanjay is a highly accomplished leader in our industry and a tireless advocate for STEM education initiatives and a diverse and inclusive semiconductor workforce,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “During a career that has spanned more than four decades, Sanjay has greatly advanced our industry, our technology, and our workforce. We’re pleased to recognize him with the 2023 Robert N. Noyce Award for his many achievements.” 

Mehrotra joined Micron in 2017 after a distinguished career at SanDisk Corp., where he led the company from its start in 1988 until its sale in 2016. In addition to being a SanDisk co-founder, he served as its president and CEO from 2011 to 2016, overseeing its growth to an industry-leading Fortune 500 company. Mehrotra has more than 40 years of experience in the semiconductor memory industry, having held previous engineering and leadership positions at Integrated Device Technology, SEEQ Technology, and Intel Corporation. Many of his more than 70 patents are foundational to enabling high-capacity flash memory, now a ubiquitous element of modern computing.

At Micron, Mehrotra is driving advances in semiconductor manufacturing across the globe. Following passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, Micron announced plans to invest in leading-edge memory manufacturing in Idaho and New York, with the New York facility being the first greenfield U.S. memory manufacturing fab built in 20 years. Micron has also announced planned investments in its fab in Hiroshima, Japan, its assembly and test facility in Xi’an, China, and an additional assembly plant in India.

Mehrotra is deeply committed to building an inclusive and equitable culture at Micron, as well as increasing diverse representation across engineering, technology, and leadership career paths. He led company efforts to achieve comprehensive global pay equity for all underrepresented groups and 50% female representation on Micron’s board of directors. He also actively supports helping communities thrive through promoting STEM education, supporting community investment, and encouraging volunteerism.

Mehrotra earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. He is also a graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Program.

“It is a great honor to receive the Noyce Award and join the ranks of previous recipients, individuals who have helped build the semiconductor industry into one of the most innovative, influential, and important sectors in the world,” said Mehrotra. “I look forward to continuing to collaborate across our industry to push the boundaries of semiconductor technology and manufacturing to meet the future demand and the tremendous opportunity facing our industry in the years ahead.” 

The Noyce Award is named in honor of semiconductor industry pioneer Robert N. Noyce, co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel Corporation.