It’s Los Angeles in the early ’60s. Steve Appleton and his two
siblings were born by the time their mom was 20 years old. Sister
Adrienne is 18 months older than Steve; brother Chris is 15 months
younger. His young parents created a healthy home environment for
their kids, but they lived in a rough neighborhood. Some of
Appleton’s friends were gang members. Although he didn’t take part
in their illegal activities, he thinks his friendships may have
protected his home, leaving it untouched while neighbors were
robbed.
Appleton’s strong work ethic started to surface early on. He had
a paper route and mowed lawns when he was 6 or 7 years old. He
recalls a time when he and his brother were supposed to be cutting
and stacking branches in the yard. They didn’t know Mom was in the
kitchen filming the whole thing. When they replayed the movie
later, it showed Appleton sawing and doing the work while his
brother rode his bicycle.
He looked up to his dad, who was also a hard worker. Dad
introduced him to sports and taught him the importance of being
exposed to new experiences throughout life. From the time he could
read, his dad gave him one book after another. As a young teenager,
he read two books that were especially challenging: “The Origin of
Species” by Charles Darwin and “The Rise and Fall of the Third
Reich” by William Lawrence Shirer.
As he got older, Appleton became more involved in academics and
sports. When he was about 12 years old, he decided he wanted to be
a professional tennis player, and if he couldn’t do that, he wanted
to work for a corporation. In high school, he became a musician, a
student conductor of the orchestra and drum major of the marching
band. He even played the trumpet and other brass instruments. While
he remained friends with some of the rougher crowd, he didn’t get
caught up in stakes that went “from sticks and rocks to knives and
guns.” He earned tennis and academic scholarships to attend Boise
State University, but some of his friends didn’t make it out of
L.A. They were in prison by the time he attended his 10-year high
school reunion.
College
Appleton took BSU’s tennis team by storm when he arrived in
1978. Greg Patton, then coach at the University of California,
Irvine, heard about Appleton’s tennis talent during his junior year
of college. Appleton’s teammates also realized that this new
recruit was exceptional.
“I was No. 1 on the team my first three years, and then this
freshman came along from California. I hadn’t seen a player as good
as Steve at Boise State,” says Mike Megale, a former tennis
teammate of Appleton’s.
Greg Wall was a senior on the tennis team when Appleton arrived.
“We all wanted to be No. 1, and here comes this freshman. He beat
us all,” Wall says.
Word of Appleton’s tennis prowess even reached his economics
professor, Richard Payne. Payne, also a tennis player, told his
students there were two ways they could earn an A in his class:
Take all the exams and get A’s or beat Payne at tennis.
When Appleton heard this, he thought, “Perfect match. It can’t
get any better than this.” Moments later, Payne announced one
exception to his proposal: The deal didn’t apply to Steve Appleton.
Appleton recalls feeling that he was lifted to great heights and
crushed in a single moment. Luckily for him, he was able to earn an
A in the class the old-fashioned way.
Appleton kept in touch with Payne even after they were no longer
in class together. He visited Payne’s BSU office from time to time
to talk about tennis, life and career opportunities. Payne
remembers Appleton as a hard worker. “Everything he did, he did it
with a purpose to the best of his ability,” Payne says, adding that
Appleton also has a great sense of humor. After Appleton fell on
his right thumb in a college match, Payne joked with him, “I think
I can beat you now.” Appleton looked him in the eye and said he
could still beat him with his left hand. Payne believed him.
Appleton worked hard on and off the court during college, often
holding down two jobs to pay for school and living expenses. He
speculates that this probably contributed to his drive to
overachieve.
“I simply did not have the money for any kind of car until I was
a junior in college. I mean, I rode my bike to and from everywhere.
Think about asking for a date when all you have is a bicycle,”
Appleton says. When he was a junior in college, he finally had
enough money to buy a wrecked Toyota Corolla from his uncle for a
thousand bucks.
Appleton spent his first two years at BSU trying to transfer to
another college. He was having a tough time adjusting to life in a
town that was so different from L.A. He also didn’t think he could
optimize his tennis game at BSU. The University of San Diego tried
to recruit him, but he learned he’d have to sit out for a year
after the transfer. “I’m not a person to sit around,” Appleton
says, adding that a new BSU tennis coach also discouraged him from
transferring. So he decided to stay at BSU.
“Steve was one of those guys that wouldn’t quit. He gave 110
percent on the tennis court. He gives 110 percent at Micron,” Payne
says. And Appleton probably wouldn’t have ended up at Micron if it
hadn’t been for Payne.
Micron
Appleton graduated from BSU with a bachelor’s degree in
business. He wanted to play tennis professionally after college. He
played the Satellite Circuit and some professional tournaments, but
didn’t think he was good enough to make a living at it. He returned
to California to start a master’s program in computer science at
California Polytechnic State University, Pomona. But the timing
wasn’t right, and he needed to wait a couple of months because the
university was on a quarter system. He returned to Boise to visit
friends while he waited. He decided he needed a job, so he visited
Payne to seek advice on where he should work. Payne knew Joe
Parkinson, one of Micron’s founders, so he connected the two.
At about the same time, Appleton applied for bank trainee and
insurance sales positions. But in 1983, he was hired at Micron and
started working the graveyard shift on the chip fabrication line.
His starting wage was $4.46 per hour.
“Steve and I started at Micron in the fab together back in the
early 1980s, and we’ve had the pleasure of working closely together
through the years as the company has grown into a global technology
leader,” says Mark Durcan, Micron president and chief operating
officer.
Appleton worked his way up to vice president of operations in
1989 and president and chief operating officer in 1992. In 1994, he
was the chairman, CEO, and president of the company. At age 34, he
was the third youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
The road was sometimes rocky as he rose through the ranks.
Micron’s board of directors fired him in 1996, but he was back in
the driver’s seat eight days later. The memory chip market also
created bumps along the way. Under his sometimes controversial
leadership, the company’s performance has fluctuated between
extreme profits and losses. Appleton says he’s now in what he
refers to as his seventh cycle since he started working at Micron,
so the current downturn is nothing new to him.
Other companies have tried to recruit him, and blogs sometimes
flood with rumors of his resignation. So what’s kept him at Micron
for 25 years? He doesn’t have to keep working. He does it because
he wants to. His job offers him “an enormous amount of variety,”
and he gets to represent the company worldwide.
“I’m proud of Micron. I think despite the fact that we have gone
through difficult times, it’s an incredible story …; an
incredible story,” he says. “Micron is a legend. …; People gave
us up for dead in the ’80s, and we have continued to grow and
acquire and thrive and continue to be a player when, by any other
measurement, most people thought we would have been buried a couple
of decades ago. And we’ve overcome. We’ve overcome the odds time
and time again. … I promise you, we will reemerge, and we will
lead our industry again, and we’ll be strong.”
Appleton is passionate when he talks about Micron. Without
hesitation, he answers that the toughest part of his job is when
the company is forced to restructure, and employees, who are like
family, lose their jobs.
“It’s just not human nature to enjoy that, and if you do enjoy
that, you’re probably not a very good leader. And it doesn’t change
what has to be done in order to move forward and still be a
competitive company and have jobs for people because the
alternative is you go away to bankruptcy. And most people forget
we’re it. We’re the last of the Mohicans in the United States. I
mean we’re it. There is nobody else that’s survived in this
business, and there used to be 20 of us that made this kind of
product. And so we have to continue to restructure and mold the
company to do what’s needed to survive so that we can continue on
to the next stage because we will emerge stronger …;”
Appleton says there is no question that restructuring is more
difficult in Boise than anywhere else in the world because it’s the
company’s headquarters and because it is closely scrutinized
locally. He’s disappointed at times because he doesn’t feel that
the “home team,” media or otherwise, roots for Micron.
“We’ve had lots and lots of criticism, and that’s fine. …; I’m
open to criticism, and I’ve gotta take the criticism with the
praise. …; I’ve been through this quite a few times. This is not
devastating to me for someone to say, ‘Hey, we don’t think the CEO
of Micron’s any good.’ You know, I’ve been through all of this, but
for our people, it’s hard.”
President Bush toured Micron’s Virginia plant in February 2007
because despite a challenging business climate in the U.S., the
company continues to have a presence in the country. Seventy
percent of Micron products are sold elsewhere, and Appleton says
that number continues to increase. He shares advice for future
business leaders: Get exposure to international markets because 95
percent of the world’s population lives outside of the U.S. He says
companies need to recognize this and try to adapt.
He also cautions leaders against taking all the credit for their
success. While they do need to be hard working and knowledgeable,
Appleton says there’s also a lot of luck involved. And he believes
in starting with a level of respect for everyone.
“I would hope that people who interact with me and know me know
I’m not a legend in my own mind. …; I don’t run around thinking
that I’m better than anybody else. Maybe it’s because of how I grew
up and didn’t have anything.”
Despite some of the challenges he’s faced at Micron, Appleton’s
glad he stayed in Boise. Not only has he had a successful career
(11 promotions in nine years), he thinks Boise is a great place to
live. He’s spent his adult life being part of the community and
watching it evolve. “It’s frustrating when people who’ve only been
here a couple of years try to tell those of us who’ve been part of
the community for 30 years -; driving hard, contributing, doing
things in the community -; what we ought to do or shouldn’t do,”
Appleton says.
Philanthropy
Appleton’s friends describe him as a generous man with a big
heart. In 2005, he was awarded the Intercollegiate Tennis
Association Achievement Award. The award, presented by Montblanc,
was created in 1994 to pay tribute to past participants in the
world of collegiate tennis who have achieved excellence in their
chosen careers, according to the association. The distinguished
person is honored for his or her professional successes and
contributions to society.
Appleton has contributed to various causes in the local
community. BSU’s current president, Dr. Robert Kustra, says
Appleton continues to be a loyal supporter of education
individually and through the Micron Foundation. Kustra met Appleton
in 2003 and interacts with him in his role as co-chair of the
university’s campaign steering committee.
Kustra said Appleton’s only requirement for agreeing to serve on
the committee was that he not be in the limelight. “He’s not
looking for press. He’s not looking for applause. To Steve, it’s
just simply about getting the job done,” Kustra says. He describes
Appleton as an incredible intellect and an unassuming CEO who
“doesn’t expect to be treated differently than anyone else.”
Appleton and Micron have made substantial donations to the
university, including $12.5 million for the College of Business and
Economics. The university also has received financial support for
its engineering program. “The success we enjoy in that program
stems largely from Micron and Steve Appleton’s leadership. He has
had an enormous impact on the university, both personally and
professionally,” Kustra says.
Another of Appleton’s contributions turned an old tennis
facility into a palace, according to Boise State’s coach Patton.
BSU and its athletic department raised some of the money to
rebuild, and Appleton was part of the fundraising effort. Patton
says Appleton gave more than $3 million to build the Appleton
Tennis Center, which opened in 2002 in the heart of the campus.
Appleton has mentored BSU tennis teams in the past. He’s even
played a match or two with them. Patton recalls a time when
Appleton came out to play “in old retro sweats.” Patton says he
wasn’t trying to con the players, but some thought he was like some
guy out of Saturday Night Live, and they weren’t taking him
seriously. It didn’t take long for Appleton to show his competitive
side. “He was playing with these elite college players and winning
points,” Patton says. “He is like a hungry coyote on the
prairie.”
Beyond the board room
There’s no doubt Appleton has an appetite for intense
activities: flying stunt planes, racing cars, motocross, skydiving,
water skiing, wakeboarding, parasailing and more. His friends say
he masters any activity he pursues. “He was the most focused person
I’ve ever met in my life,” Jackson says. “I can beat him at golf
and racquetball, but nothing else.” Former teammate and college
roommate Mark Jackson says Appleton excels in sports ranging from
weight lifting to ping pong. He admits that if Appleton puts his
mind to it, he can probably conquer him in golf and racquetball
too. “The thing that’s so uncanny about Steve is that he’s so good
at so many things,” Patton says.
For the past 14 years, Appleton and the rest of his college
tennis teammates have continued to hold regular reunions in places
such as McCall, Coeur d’Alene, Hawaii and Montana. Some trips are
more adventurous than others. Megale recalls the 1997 trip to
Hawaii. Appleton planned the group’s itinerary to the minute. One
day, he announced that they were all going on a field trip. He kept
their destination a surprise but told the guys to wear hiking shoes
and swimming trunks. They hiked up a dry creek bed for about an
hour, climbing higher into the mountains. Finally, they reached a
dark cave with an opening the size of two large double doors in the
side of the mountain. It was full of water, and the only light came
from Appleton’s head lamp. Although they didn’t know what lurked
below the surface, the guys got in and started swimming. Megale
says that it was unbelievably scary, but they just kept following
the beam of light from Appleton’s lamp. Finally, they made it out
of the cave and Appleton announced, “We’re here!” About 20 yards
further, a massive waterfall crashed into an abyss …; and the
guys were supposed to jump into it. Appleton jumped first and
coaxed everyone else down. “Talk about a bonding experience,”
Megale says. Wall and Megale agree that they always feel safe with
Appleton. “The thing is, all of us trust him to the point that we
would do this,” Megale says.
Some of Appleton’s activities are daring, to say the least. He
says he’s probably taken his biggest physical risks in aviation and
flying aerobatics. He started piloting planes in the mid-’80s
because skydiving bored him. He decided he’d rather fly the planes
than jump out of them. “A lot of people think flying aerobatics is
about thrill seeking, and it never was for me,” he says. He admits
that flying an inverted plane 500 mph, 50 feet off the ground is
pretty exciting. But it’s also important that the maneuvers foster
precision and develop a pilot’s skills.
In July 2004, he was performing stunt maneuvers in his plane
when it crashed. He suffered serious injuries but still spent less
than a day in the hospital and was soon back to work. Despite an
event that could have had a fatal ending, Appleton says he wasn’t
afraid of flying after the crash because he knew exactly what
caused it.
Appleton even manages to maintain a sense of humor when it comes
to flying. When he and Brian Halla, CEO of National Semiconductor,
met in 1996, Appleton told him about a time when he was testing out
a new airplane he had just purchased. He was flying upside down
when the engine froze. Wide-eyed, Halla asked Appleton what he did
next. Appleton replied, “I took it back to the dealer.”
One summer, he flew in a California air show near Halla’s home.
With a pair of binoculars, Halla watched a bright red plane fly
upside down and perform loops and rolls. Halla thought it might be
Appleton, so he asked him about it the next time they spoke.
Appleton confirmed that he had been flying in the show and told
Halla he should have given him a call that day because he had his
phone in the cockpit.
Appleton joined National Semiconductor’s board of directors in
2001. Halla says that even though Appleton is the youngest member
of the board, he’s probably the most influential. “He’s always a
‘peer plus one.’ He takes control, not in a dominating way, but
adds value,” Halla says, adding that he’s very committed to every
task he undertakes. Appleton never missed a meeting when he chaired
the Semiconductor Industry Association. And Halla recalls that on
more than one occasion, Appleton has held the board of directors
spellbound with stories of weekend adventures.
But Appleton has a slightly different viewpoint when it comes to
risk. His philosophy is that although young people tend to take
more risks, people can actually afford to take more chances the
older they get because they no longer have their entire lives ahead
of them. In 2006, he and other executives demonstrated their
willingness to throw caution to the wind by entering an off-road
car race in Baja, Calif. Appleton actually won the race in his
category, ahead of 20 other cars.
Four Micron cars raced, recording video on equipment featuring
the company’s NAND flash memory and image sensors. This allowed
Micron to capture images of the entire race for the first time -; a
clever way to market the company, the product and the CEO.
But Appleton’s focus isn’t limited to sports and death-defying
hobbies. Although he’s never been much of a fiction reader, he and
Jackson tell the story of a time during college when he holed up
and read every book written by American frontier author Louis
L’Amour.
Jackson visited Appleton after college. He describes an
apartment that was cluttered with evidence of Appleton’s latest
interests: Bicycles, tennis rackets, running accessories …; even
gun reloading equipment. Jackson says at one point, Appleton got
into woodworking. He bought tools and built fancy shelves, then
gave the tools away when he was ready to take on a new
challenge.
The future
So what’s next for Appleton? He still has hopes and dreams for
his family and for himself. Like most parents, he wants to see his
children graduate from college and be contributing members of
society. “You know, parents can’t take responsibility for
everything their kids turn out to be, and I’m fortunate that so
far, everybody’s on track and pretty good,” he says.
Taking his dad’s advice to heart, he continues to pursue new
experiences. He still wants to see the Seven Wonders of the World.
Although he climbed Mount Fuji in the early ’90s, he hopes to
someday climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Not surprisingly, a man who
embraces risk and adventure isn’t plagued with regrets.
“I don’t have any regrets. I have lived a great, great life, and
I have experienced so much more than one person should be
allowed.”
Brenda Ceja is the business reporter for the Idaho
Press-Tribune. She can be reached at bceja@idahopress.com or
465-8120. On the Web: www. micron.com
© 2012 Idaho Press-Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Article source: http://www.idahopress.com/news/local/feature-on-micron-s-steve-appleton-i-don-t-have/article_4069e259-0783-5fd7-a57b-12eb37fb11ca.html
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Brian T. Silak
