What He Could Have Done

Sanjay K. Jha had a very challenging job offered to him on August 4, 2008. He would be the new CEO of Motorola Mobile Devices.  Motorola Mobile made a comeback with its Droid phones using Google’s Android operating systems.  Then it was announced on the first week of January 2011 that Motorola would be split into two companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions.  Jha became the Chairman and CEO of Motorola Mobility (MMI).

Then on May 22, 2012 just a little over a year later it was announced that Google would take over MMI.  In line with this Jha stepped down as CEO of MMI. Thus we would never know what new direction Jha would have brought MMI. The bet on using the Android operating system certainly made it an attractive target for Google.

Even before joining MMI Jha had been an overachiever. Holding a PhD and an engineering degree, he was employed in two other companies before joining Qualcomm in 1994 and Motorola in 2008. While at Qualcomm he held many senior posts and holding multiple positions.  In 2002 he led the formation of Qualcomm Technologies & Ventures while heading both the technology investment portfolio and the new technology group.  He was the COO of Qualcomm before joining Motorola.

With a $66 million cash and stock option Golden Parachute upon the sale to Google, it certainly gives Jha plenty of time to think what he will do next.

You Don’t Have To Be

There are many stories of entrepreneurs raking in millions or billions for their inventions, products or services that they brought to the market.  There are some who are worth billions and have made significant marks in their field without necessarily being the inventor or founder of a company. They were simply good at managing the company.

Take the case of Eric Schmidt. At the onset he didn’t have anything to do with Google.  He was brought in to bring some sort of stability and management skill to a company that was basically being run by two geniuses who were good but needed some help by a more business seasoned professional.

Before joining Google in 2001 as CEO, Schmidt already had outstanding credentials.  His academic background reveals his technological grounding with an electrical engineering degree from Princeton as well as a Ph.D. in computer science from Berkeley.  Career wise he was Sun Microsystems, Inc.’s chief technology officer and later on Novell’s chairman and CEO.

In a decade, what was once a start-up company became a behemoth under Schmidt’s stewardship.  This shows his above average managerial skills as well as his understanding of the technology involved.  Google has grown so large that it now gets entangled in anti-trust investigations.

He relinquished his CEO position in 2011 and remains as Google’s Executive Chairman. With an estimated net worth of $6.2 billion as of  2011, Schmidt is a very rich man and holds influential positions in other organizations.

This shows that you may not have started it all but you can make huge and lasting contributions as a great executive.