Sir Robin Saxby FREng FRS (born 1947)
Electronic engineer who became the founding CEO and Chairman of Arm, a joint venture company between Acorn, Apple and VLSI Technology at the end of 1990. ARM listed on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ in April 1998. Arm subsequently became the most prolific microprocessor architecture on our planet, used in 99% of the world’s mobile phones and spreading into the majority of digital applications.
City of London Connections
CEO and Chairman of Arm Holdings plc (1991-2006)
Non Executive Director Glotel
Advised on the Sainsbury Report which created the foundation of the Technology Strategy Board in Gordon Brown’s Government (2007)
Supporter of the National Theatre, the Prince’s Trust, The Teenage Cancer Trust, The Archives of IT
Advisory board member of Amadeus Venture Capital
Chair of the SIT (Science, Industry and Translation Committee) of the Royal Society
Honorary Liveryman of Worshipful Company of Information Technologists (2022)
Contribution to Engineering
Robin was involved in the design of the UK’s first solid state colour television receiver at Rank Bush Murphy and the first consumer integrated circuits made by Plessey in 1968. Those integrated circuits contained just 50 transistors. He joined Motorola Semiconductors in 1973, and ES2 in 1986 in more sales, marketing and management roles. He learned how for the best engineering results it is important to get the “voice of the customer” into the specification of the product. Today’s circuits contain up to 50 billion transistors on a chip. Those chips also require software (which gives them their personality) in order to function. He and his team of 12 engineers spun out of Acorn created a new business model to license Arm technology to world leading partners and become the global standard microprocessor for Digital Electronics. This has more than been achieved with over 300 billion Arm cores embedded in chips shipped by Arm’s licensees.
Robin’s contribution was mainly in the area of industry understanding, competitive analysis and the recognition of new market trends for the nascent digital landscape. It was the hard working and creative engineers working in broad technical domains, including systems design, VLSI design, tools design, application design and operating systems design that achieved the result for a more effective solution, thus changing the whole semiconductor technology landscape globally.
To create effective global standards, direct competitors need to collaborate. The idea of the Arm business model was that everyone could contribute to making the Arm architecture more effective both technically and commercially.
The 12 founding engineers did the initial SWOT analysis (left) which set the strategic direction and technical roadmap for Arm. This approach was a key building block for future ambition and team building.
The key drivers for the ARM technical roadmap included higher performance, lower cost, power efficiency, ease of use, shorter design time, and better code density. As the roadmap evolved new customer needs were addressed to solve the widest possible range of applications challenges as well as bringing more complex solutions to market at a faster pace.
Image: Robin with a layout of the first Arm commercial chip the ARM610 as used in the Apple Newton PDA (Personal Development Assistant)
The culture at Arm of “hard work and fun” were key in getting the engineers to continually excel, exceed expectations and achieve what at first appeared to be impossible.
A key reason for Arm’s success was the inclusive attitude of all involved to be able to get the best out of everyone. A leader is important but in a team you need the best in every position, you also need to continually learn and improve. Robin would like to acknowledge all the great people he has worked with throughout his life and all the great people who followed him at Arm in continuing the innovation and success.
He would particularly like to encourage the young to discover their passions, ignite them and when things go wrong pick themselves up and have another go.
Legacy
Robin Saxby (pictured here at his induction to the City of London Engineering Hall of Fame with Lord Mayor of London Alderman Michael Mainelli and Professor Gordon Masterton) is recognised as a world visionary who with his team and those who followed him changed the landscape of the computer and semiconductor industries and who has had an influence in all our lives as the Arm architecture powers the electronic devices that are so much a part of our daily lives.
Knighted for services to the Information Technology Industry (2002)
The Faraday Medal of the IET (2002)
Wharton Infosys Technology change agent (2004)
President of IET (2006-07)
Semico Summit Bellwether award for outstanding contribution to the semiconductor industry (2006)
Elektra lifetime awards lifetime achievement (2007)
Global Semiconductor Industry Association Dr Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership award (2012)
IEEE Founders Medal (2019)
Robin has Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Liverpool, Loughborough, Essex, York, Anglia Ruskin, Nottingham Trent and Edge Hill.
Robin has invested in and guided many technology start-up companies as well as investing his time in teaching and mentoring with professional institutions and universities.
He has funded several major projects and activities at his Alma mater the University of Liverpool where he guides and mentors many staff and students.
He was a founding seed funder of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise hub where he mentors young entrepreneurs.
He believes that in today’s connected society engineering and science effect everyone’s lives and that it is important for the general public to have a broader understanding of these topics to make sure that technology is used to improve the quality of life for all.
Image: Robin’s painting of the Taplow Sea Bears Cross Channel Swim in support of the Samaritans.
In response to these challenges Robin finds that his hobbies of painting and music are helpful in establishing broader connectivity and can also be used to support some of his charitable activities.
References and Further Information
Apple Newton & ARM – Anglia Business News 1993
Elektra Lifetime Achievement Awards 2007
GSA Exemplary Leadership Award 2012
Robin Saxby Lecture: Growing a start-up into a global powerhouse 2017
IEEE Founders medal video 2019
Ama Frimpong and Robin Saxby inspire the children at Little Thurrock School 2024
Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals
The resulting impact of low power mobile telephony has directly and indirectly contributed to Goal 4: Quality Education; Goal 8: Decent work and Economic Growth; Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure; Goal 10: Reduced inequalities; and Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and communities.
Footnote: ARM was formally an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine. Arm today is represented in lower case letters. ARM was used throughout Robin’s time with the company so much of his material will reference that.
All images courtesy of Sir Robin Saxby
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