Editor's note: As part of the Silicon Valley Business Journal's annual C-Suite Awards, we are honoring 14 high-level executives. Read on for a profile of Matt Murphy, one of this year's honorees. For tickets to a special event Thursday evening, click here.
After 25 years in the semiconductor industry, Marvell Technology Group CEO Matt Murphy attributes most of his success to a big advantage he’s had along the way: mentorship.
Murphy’s father, Jack Murphy, was a tech CEO himself, having been hired onto Apple’s first sales force in 1984 by legendary executive Bill Campbell before going on to be CEO of Practical Peripherals, Prometheus and Cohesion Systems.
And meanwhile, he helped guide his eldest son’s technology career, starting in 1994, the year Murphy graduated from Franklin and Marshall College and moved back in with his parents in Woodside.
Every night, Murphy described coming home from his product marketing job at Maxim Integrated and telling his father about his day — sometimes in the hot tub while Jack smoked a cigar.
The daily talks became a ritual after Murphy moved out and as he built a career at Maxim, where he stayed for 22 years, eventually becoming an executive vice president.
“He kept my head on straight and encouraged me to play the long game, and not just jump at opportunities or get frustrated,” Murphy said. “I credit most of my success in my professional life to his mentorship of me.”
Sadly, Murphy’s father died on Nov. 1 at the age of 73, after an eight-year decline from Parkinson’s disease.
His legacy lives on in Murphy, who was named CEO of Marvell in 2016 as the company undertook a leadership overhaul triggered by activist investor Starboard Value.
When Murphy arrived at Marvell, the stock had fallen below $10 per share and customers were concerned about the company’s viability, Murphy said.
The company also had issues with the SEC, most recently settling for $5.5 million charges around an alleged “pull-in” scheme from before Murphy was brought in to the company.
Today, Marvell has touted a turnaround in its performance, and the company’s stock has soared to more than $25 per share.
Murphy pivoted Marvell’s strategy away from selling to consumer product companies in order to focus on the data infrastructure market. Murphy then sold a number of non-core businesses, including its WiFi and Bluetooth chip business to NXP for $1.76 billion in May.
The result of the refocusing: Marvell’s market cap has tripled since 2016 for a current value of more than $17.9 billion.
Rick Hill, the Starboard-backed chairman of Marvell’s board who recruited Murphy as CEO in 2016, called Murphy a “visionary.”
“His integrity is extremely high, he is extremely hardworking, he’s driven, he inspires and leads, which are the most important things that any CEO can do,” Hill said.
Murphy expressed gratitude that his father had still been somewhat mobile when he first joined Marvell, so that he could show him around the company’s Santa Clara office. “He couldn’t believe it,” Murphy said. “I walked him all around, showed him the boardroom, the whole deal, and he was like, ‘Oh my God, you have done such an amazing job.’ ”
CEO Public Company/Large
Matt Murphy
President and Chief Executive Officer, Marvell Technology Group
Headquarters: Santa Clara
Age: 47
Website: www.marvell.com
Industry: Technology
Description: Semiconductor solutions
Year company founded: 1995
Number of employees: 5,700
2019 revenue: $2.9 billion
Career path: Various business unit management positions; vice president, worldwide sales and marketing; senior vice president, communications and automotive solutions group; executive vice president, business units, sales and marketing, all Maxim Integrated; president and chief executive officer, Marvell Semiconductor