原创 Intellon副总裁Andreas Melder的自我简介（英文）

本文原文链接：Intellon's Andreas Melder: An Introduction

注：本文是Intellon副总裁Andreas Melder为EDN编辑Brian主持的How we see CE（消费电子高峰视点）发表的一篇文章。主要讲述了Andreas Melder的一些生平。

Brian, I’m truly delighted and honored to participate on this blog. I hope to provide its readers with insights into various technologies, not necessarily only those with which I am associated today.

My story is probably a bit unique, but then again, perhaps its uniqueness makes it somewhat acceptable and commonplace in the ever-changing technology landscape. Born in Germany and adopted by a US-based couple in Pennsylvania, I came to the United States at age 5. I grew up in Pittsburgh, thinking I would pursue acting and study drama. I ended up attending Carnegie-Mellon University but chose the more logical academic disciplines of electrical engineering and business.

My first job out of school was with Texas Instruments as part of their defense-related business unit. I ended up writing smart bomb and missile guidance algorithms. Soon thereafter, I realized this occupational line of work was probably not a good fit with my ideology and personal interests; I went back to graduate school at Southern Methodist University for my Masters degrees in Digital Signal Processing and Operations Research.

Almost immediately afterwards, I started down an entrepreneurial path that has yet to end or become disenchanting in any way. At the ripe age of 26 I sought a marketing role in an emerging start-up in Dallas called VITec (Visual Information Technologies). There I had the unique experience of competing with a relatively unknown company at the time called Pixar. At that time (1986), both VITec and Pixar were developing Image Computers used to assist a number of industries in their image rendering applications.

Of course, Steve Jobs masterminded an incredible journey for the folks at Pixar, got out of the hardware business and leveraged the genius of John Lasseter and others to become the creative arm of Disney’s CG business today. VITec was sold to ESL (an arm of TRW). A great learning experience to be sure; the silicon team from VITec quickly converged once again to form Pixel Semiconductor. Learning from the VITec experience, we quickly became a valuable M&A target for Cirrus Logic, and within 2 years, were acquired by the then-Fremont-based graphics giant.

By this point in my career, I realized that of all the components of success (and luck is certainly one of them), the most important was the unique chemistry that must exist between the like-minded people that are determined to succeed in the unforgiving high technology start-up industry. Of all the ingredients of success that I would rate as important in my life journey, it’s the spirit to not be denied that must prevail – surrounding oneself with balanced, passionate, determined and committed individuals will guarantee a positive and rewarding experience.

After Cirrus Logic I was ready – I chose to be a founding member in a raw startup including individuals with which I had a strong history, as well as folks that we hand-picked from a talent pool from around the world. The vision was to create the first monolithic broadband tuner in pure silicon. The dream prompted the birth of Microtune. The subsequent path was filled with challenges -- loss of a key architect in the early going, IP infringement battles, and of course the omnipresent market pressures to drive any and all silicon into margin oblivion. Still, Microtune made it into the public domain in 2000, a tribute to the determination and vision of our team – and is still a strong player in the tuner business today.

I also spent 4 years helping to position Tripath, a semiconductor company in the Valley, as the leader in a new category of Class-D amplification technology, suitable for consumer audio, xDSL line driving technology, and at the time, potentially for the cellular PA and optical TIA markets. Again, I was part of a team that was fortunate enough to provide the investors a public exit. There, I had the opportunity of learning how the public markets comprehend, reward and punish companies that excel and disappoint the Street. The people I met and developed relationships on the financial side of the industry are individuals I talk with regularly today and count as some of my closest friends.

Today I am proud to be part of the senior management team of an incredibly promising company – Intellon – the leader in the powerline communications market and major contributor of the development of the global PLC standard; HomePlug. Having spent considerable time in the broadband and wireless industries, my view was that powerline communications and broadband over the power grid technologies were entering a perfect storm scenario – many industry vectors and consumer demands were aligning like never before.

There is not a sector that Intellon will not touch and influence – service providers for IPTV enablement, the digital home, content delivery in general, the smart power grid, alternative energy opportunities, BPL access and new social entertainment consumption usage models. Intellon and HomePlug promise to have a unique place in communications folklore. Embracing Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Wall Street, the technology we, along with other HomePlug constituent silicon provider companies, are bringing to market will literally change people’s lives around the world. The “dark wire” that exists in virtually all homes around the world is being lit by HomePlug-enabled products – stay tuned for more exciting developments from Intellon and the HomePlug Powerline Alliance.

So today, with more years under my belt than I care to admit, in exciting markets that I could never replicate in another life, I am here on EDN's website looking forward to bringing you my thoughts on technology, trends and possible market conclusions – at least as much as my hectic schedule will allow.