Steve Appleton

Steven R. Appleton (March 31, 1960 – February 3, 2012) was an American business executive, the CEO of Micron Technology, based in Boise, Idaho.[1]

This article is about the American businessman. For the British musician, see Stevie Appleton.
Steve Appleton
Born(1960-03-31)March 31, 1960
California, U.S.
DiedFebruary 3, 2012(2012-02-03) (aged 51)
Boise, Idaho, U.S.
Resting placeDry Creek Cemetery
Boise, Idaho
EducationBoise State University
Known forCEO of Micron Technology
SpouseDalynn
Children4

Born and raised in Southern California, Appleton attended Boise State University and played tennis for the Broncos.[2] A lifelong aviation enthusiast, he died when his single-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Boise Airport on February 3, 2012.[3]

Career

Appleton started his career at Micron shortly after graduation from BSU in 1983, working the night shift in production for less than five dollars an hour. He held a variety of positions in the company, including wafer fab manager, production manager, director of manufacturing, and vice president of manufacturing before being appointed president and COO in 1991. Appleton was appointed CEO and chairman of the board in 1994 at age 34. In January 1996, he was fired and then rehired eight days later.[4]

He formerly served on the board of directors for SEMATECH, the Idaho State Supreme Court Advisory Council, and was appointed by the Clinton Administration to serve on the National Semiconductor Technology Council. At the time of his death, he was serving on the board of directors for the Semiconductor Industry Association, and the board of directors for National Semiconductor Corporation, The U.S. Technology CEO Council, and was a member of the World Semiconductor Council and the Idaho Business Council. After his death, Mark Durcan assumed Appleton's position as CEO of Micron.[5]

In 2011 he received the Robert Noyce Award from the Semiconductor Industry Association.[6]

Personal life

Appleton participated in a number of sports, including professional tennis. His hobbies included scuba diving, surfing, wakeboarding, motorcycling, and more recently, off-road car racing. His aviation background included multiple ratings and professional performances at air shows in both propeller and jet-powered aircraft. He also had a black belt in taekwondo.

On the 43rd edition of the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 on 2010, Appleton finished 1st on a SCORE Class 1 buggy and 7th overall with a time of 20:32.18.[7]

He was married to his wife Dalynn, and had 4 children.[8]

Death

On February 3, 2012, Appleton was killed while attempting an emergency landing in a Lancair IV-PT experimental-category, four-seat, turboprop airplane at the Boise Airport, moments after taking off. He had aborted a take off a few minutes earlier for unknown reasons.[9][10]

Eight years earlier in 2004 with a passenger aboard and several miles south of the same airport, Appleton had a serious plane crash piloting an Extra 300;[11] he sustained a punctured lung, head injuries, ruptured disk, and broken bones.[12] The passenger was a Micron employee and was also injured; he was photographing Appleton for an upcoming corporate presentation.[11]

References
  1. Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, www.Micron.com. Archived February 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Ceja, Brenda (3 February 2012). "2008 feature on Micron's Steve Appleton: 'I don't have any regrets'". Idaho Press. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  3. "National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Final Report".
  4. Burrows, Peter (May 13, 1996). Written at Idaho. "MICRON'S COMEBACK KID". Boise: Businessweek. Archived from the original on 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  5. Savitz, Eric (February 6, 2012). "Micron Names Durcan CEO Following Appleton's Death". Forbes. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  6. Micron Technology CEO Steve Appleton Honored By Industry Peers, PR Newswire, November 3, 2011.
  7. SCORE International. "Official Results" (PDF). SCORE International. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-15. Steve Appleton 1st 7th overall
  8. Beech, Holly (24 February 2012). "Micron's Steve Appleton remembered". Idaho Press. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  9. Steve Appleton Obituary, IdahoStatesman.com, Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  10. "NTSB Probable Cause Report". NTSB. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  11. "Corporate chairman injured in stunt plane crash". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). Associated Press. July 9, 2004. p. 4A.
  12. "Extra Flugzeugrau GMBH EA 300/L, Air Crash in Boise, IDAHO, USA on 7/8/2004". aircrashed.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012.
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