Qualcomm Turns to General Motors for New General Counsel Chaplin

Qualcomm Inc. has tapped General Motors Co. lawyer Ann Chaplin as its next general counsel and corporate secretary.

Chaplin officially joins the San Diego-based semiconductor producer on Nov. 1. She succeeds Qualcomm’s general counsel of 14 years Don Rosenberg, who is retiring at the end of the year. During the transition, Rosenberg will take the role of special advisor for policy, regulation, and strategic initiatives, according to a Friday statement.

“We are excited to welcome Ann to Qualcomm at a time when we see demand for our technologies across virtually every industry and we are positioning the company to execute on one of the largest growth opportunities in our history,” said Qualcomm president and CEO Cristiano Amon in the statement.

Like other chipmakers, Qualcomm has been “short on everything,” Amon told Bloomberg last month, but the end to a semiconductor shortage caused by heightened demand during the pandemic and a surge in technologies like self-driving cars may be in sight.

“We see material improvements coming to us at the end of this year,” Amon said. “We are going to enter 2022 with a much more balanced equation between supply and demand.”

While Qualcomm primarily produces chips for smartphones, the global shortage of semiconductors has especially affected automakers like Chaplin’s recent employer General Motors, costing the industry an estimated $210 billion this year alone.

Qualcomm is starting to reach into the automotive business—last month the company proposed an acquisition of automotive technology company Veoneer Inc. for roughly $4.5 billion, outbidding Magna International Inc.’s $3.8 billion offer.

Chaplin was most recently deputy general counsel for automaker General Motors. Before that, she was a partner at Fish & Richardson in Minneapolis.

Rosenberg joined Qualcomm is set to depart after roughly 14 years with the company.

“Don’s leadership and strategic thinking have helped the company overcome challenges and thrive as we invented and brought leading wireless technologies to the world,” Amon said.