Texas Instruments Inc (TXN)

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DALLAS .– Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) CEO and president, Rich Templeton, challenged more than 8,000 young engineers to champion innovation and set their sights on making a difference during a keynote address at the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) 34th annual national convention held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Templeton delivered his keynote during the annual NSBE Golden Torch Awards banquet on March 22.

Templeton also accepted the Corporate Diversity Leadership Award on behalf of the company and presented TI Senior Vice President, Arthur L. George, with the 2008 NSBE Lifetime Achievement in Industry Award.

“TI and NSBE share some common objectives – to cultivate leadership and to expand the pipeline of young engineers,” said Templeton. “Like NSBE, TI believes that strong leaders are vital: to developing talent, discovering new technologies, and helping TI make a difference. Through our longstanding relationship, NSBE has introduced TI to some of this country’s best and brightest engineering minds.”

TI has been a NSBE corporate sponsor and participant in the annual convention for more than 20 years. TI recruits 20-25 employees per year directly from the NSBE conference and finances 1,000 NSBE student memberships every year to build new chapters around the country. For the last 19 years, NSBE members have ranked TI among the top 50 companies for blacks in the U.S. to work — an honor the company has received since the list’s inception in 1989.

In his remarks, Templeton described the potential impact technology could have on solving some of the key problems facing the world today. “Technology offers us the chance to take on critical problems in the healthcare, power efficiency and public safety sectors that touch billions of people and impact every corner of the world. These challenges are in need of solutions, and the need is immediate,” Templeton said. “Those solutions aren’t going to come out of board rooms, summits or political debates. They’re going to come from people like you, creative engineers who want to make a difference.”

Following the keynote address, Templeton presented Art George, senior vice president of TI’s High-Performance Analog business unit, with NSBE’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement in Industry Award. George, a graduate of Southern University, joined TI 24 years ago and oversees one of the fastest growing entities within TI. George has served as a campus volunteer and recruiter for more than 20 years, personally recruiting at Southern University, Tennessee State University, Tuskegee University and the University of Arkansas. He is a member of the TI “Adopt a School Program” and has many more works worthy of recognition.

“If you’re looking for a success story, for a great role model, there’s no better example than Art, who runs one of TI’s fastest growing businesses in our company,” said Templeton. “He’s smart, curious, and a true believer in the power of technology.”

Templeton ended his speech by telling NSBE members to not only focus on being successful, but to set their sights on making a difference. “I encourage you to champion innovation, work with young people to get them excited about math and science and help build the next generation of scientists and engineers. TI believes in NSBE because this organization is developing young people, like yourselves, who will shape the future,” he concluded.

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