Qualcomm's Irwin M. Jacobs: Technologies that changed our lives

Dr. Irwin M. Jacobs, the founding chairman and CEO Emeritus of Qualcomm Incorporated, was named the W. P. Carey School Executive of the Year by the Dean's Council on April 19, 2012, at the Economic Club of Phoenix Luncheon.

If you find yourself increasingly dependent on your smartphone, Dr. Irwin M. Jacobs should be at the top of your list of people to thank. Founding chairman and CEO Emeritus for Qualcomm Incorporated, Jacobs was part of teams that developed many of the technologies that made several of the digital technologies we rely upon every day possible. For example, at QUALCOMM Jacobs oversaw the development of Code Division Multiple Access — or CDMA — a technology fundamental to 3G mobile wireless standards. Among his 14 patents are technologies that make your smartphone indispensable.

On April 19, 2012, Jacobs was named the W. P. Carey School Dean's Council Executive of the Year, an honor reserved for change-making business leaders who serve as models for today’s business students. Recent honorees include Richard Adkerson, the president and CEO of Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold, Inc. and Alan Mullaly, president and CEO of the Ford Motor Company. The first recipient was Andrew S. Grove, CEO of Intel Corporation.

Jacobs shared personal recollections of a lifetime creating the technologies that have changed our lives at the Executive of the Year award luncheon on April 19, 2012. Listed as one of the most generous philanthropists of our day, Jacobs also talked about Qualcomm's support of the "We Learn" mobile education project.

Listen to his keynote presentation: