Conexant Names New Senior VP and General Manager of Broadband Access

Craig Garen Joins Company from LSI Corporation
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Conexant Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNXT), a worldwide leader in semiconductor solutions for broadband communications and the digital home, today announced that Craig J. Garen has joined the company as senior vice president and general manager of Broadband Access. Conexant’s Broadband Access unit provides a comprehensive suite of system solutions for ADSL, VDSL, and PON applications.
Garen replaces Akram Atallah, who is leaving the company to pursue outside opportunities. In his new role, Garen reports to Dan Artusi, Conexant president and chief executive officer.
“Craig is an outstanding addition to the Conexant senior leadership team,” Artusi said. “I am convinced that his proven leadership skills, exceptional technical acumen, and ability to successfully manage geographically diverse engineering organizations will prove to be a significant asset for us as we work to expand our Broadband Access positions. We are fortunate that an executive with his track record of accomplishments has chosen to join us.
“I’d also like to thank Akram him for his dedication, contributions, and many years of service to our company, and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” Artusi said.
“I’m excited about Conexant’s ability to win in this market, and I’d like to thank Dan for giving me the opportunity to lead the company’s Broadband Access organization,” Garen said. “Over the years, the Conexant team has worked hard to establish a leadership position in the highly competitive DSL business. I look forward to applying the skills and experience I’ve developed during nearly three decades in the semiconductor industry as we build on that success by delivering innovative, cost-effective solutions to customers on schedule.”
Garen, 49, joined Conexant from LSI Corporation, where he spent the past two years as senior vice president of the Mobility Division. In this role, he managed a multi-disciplined engineering workforce of more than 600 people located in the U.S., Europe, and India that delivered complete system solutions for mobile communications and entertainment applications that included cellular phones and satellite radio.
Prior to that, Garen spent five years at Agere Systems. As vice president of engineering for the Telecom Division, he led a worldwide development organization responsible for delivering products for wireline, wireless, and metro wide area networking applications. At Agere, he also served as general manager of the company’s Broadband Access business unit.
Garen was also general manager of the Client Access business for Lucent Technologies’ Microelectronics Group, where he was responsible for the analog modem, Ethernet NIC, HPNA, and ADSL CPE businesses. In addition, he worked for AT&T’s Microelectronics Group, and for AT&T’s Bell Labs, where he was part of the team that designed one of the industry’s first DSP chips.
Garen earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Lehigh University, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from Lehigh University.
He will be based at Conexant’s DSL Center of Excellence in Red Bank, NJ.