Keynote Talk: Semiconductor Industry: Best of Times, Worst of Times, and Nowhere Else I Would Rather Be!

Best of times: Semiconductors have been at the heart of most technological progress in the past few decades and have had a profoundly positive impact on the human condition. It is hard to argue when many say that we are living in the "golden age of electronics". Human ingenuity has enabled the creation of products that customers never asked for, but now cannot live without everything from computers to digital cameras, mp3 players and mobile phones. The most successful products and applications are the creative use and convergence of technologies and application domains. Truly speaking, this is only the beginning. The consumerization of electronics, globalization of markets and the human aspiration for a better quality of life is creating unprecedented opportunities that only the semiconductor industry can help realize. Worst of times: 2008 was an inflexion point in the global economic boom we witnessed since the dotcom bubble burst earlier in the millennium. Across the board, businesses are still struggling to grow and constantly looking at opportunities to improve operational efficiencies. Unemployment in the developed world is at a multi-decade high and GDP growth rates at a multi-year low. We are yet to feel the full impact of the economic down-turn, and the social impact that will follow has not even really started. One thing is certain, this is not a transitory phase; this is the new normal.