Future Electronics

{{Infobox company

| logo = Future_Electronics_Official_Logo.png

| image = Future-electronics-building-montreal 01.jpg

| image_caption = Headquarters in Montreal, Canada

| image_size = 250px

| name = Future Electronics Inc.

| type = Private Subsidiary

| foundation = {{Start date and age|1968}}

| founder = Robert G. Miller

| key_people = Omar Baig-Mirza (President){{cite press release | url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/02/08/2603856/0/en/Future-Electronics-Announces-New-Executive-Team.html | title=Future Electronics Announces New Executive Team | date=8 February 2023 }}

| area_served = Worldwide

| num_locations = 170 offices in 44 countries

| num_employees = 5,200 (2023)

| revenue = US$5 billion (2014)

| fate = Acquired in 2024 by WT Microelectronics of Taiwan

| hq_location = Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada

| industry = Electronics

| homepage = {{URL|futureelectronics.com}}

}}

Future Electronics Inc. is a distributor of electronic and electro-mechanical components headquartered in Pointe-Claire, Quebec.

Future Electronics is one of Quebec's largest privately owned companies{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2002/10/28/story5.html |title=DeSoto lands electronics warehouse - Memphis Business Journal |publisher=Bizjournals.com |date=2002-10-27 |accessdate=2013-09-04}} and is currently the third largest electronics distributor in the world.{{cite web|url=https://www.sourcetoday.com/rankings-research/top-50-electronics-distributors/article/21164689/2021-top-50-electronics-distributors-list |title=2021 Top 50 Electronics Distributors List |publisher=sourcetoday.com |accessdate=2013-09-04}} It operates in 170 locations in 44 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania.{{cite web |last1=Caporicci |first1=Claudio |title=Future Electronics President Robert Miller Congratulates Austria Office on Their 20th Anniversary |url=https://www.pr.com/press-release/840930 |publisher=PR.com |access-date=23 January 2022}}

The company follows a business model that emphasizes zero debt and the willingness to buy and hold inventories, allowing the company to maintain positive relationship with component suppliers. In 2014, its revenues were $5 billion.{{cite news|last1=Dolan|first1=Kerry A.|title=Press-Shy Canadian Electronics Billionaire Robert Miller Breaks His Silence|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2014/03/31/press-shy-canadian-electronics-billionaire-robert-miller-breaks-his-silence/|accessdate=15 July 2015|work=Forbes|date=31 March 2014}}

History

Future Electronics was founded in November 1968 when Robert Miller left his job in electronics distribution to form a new company. Alongside his business partner, Eli Manis, Miller set up an office in Montreal and began a distribution operation. In 1972, the pair opened an office in Boston, Massachusetts.{{Cite web |title=Future Electronics Company History|url=https://www.zippia.com/future-electronics-careers-197773/history/ |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=Zippia|date=27 August 2020 |language=en}}

Miller became the sole owner of the company after he bought Manis out for $500,000 in 1976.{{Cite web |title=Robert G. Miller |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/robert-g-miller/ |access-date=2022-12-14 |website=Forbes |language=en}} By 1988, an office in Huntsville, Alabama had opened its doors, and Future Electronics was a major distributor in the United States.

In the decades that followed, Future became a globally recognized distributor of components. It remains privately owned to this day.{{Cite web |title=Future Electronics and Robert Miller Celebrate 43rd Anniversary of Company's Incorporation in the US.|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Future+Electronics+and+Robert+Miller+Celebrate+43rd+Anniversary+of...-a0442457517 |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=The Free Library|language=en}}

In 1999, the company was raided by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in a fraud probe into the company.{{Cite news|last=McIntosh|first=Andrew|url=https://newspapers.com/article/north-bay-nugget-tale-of-the-tape-billi/135000123/|date=2010-07-30|page=10|title=Billionaire in messy, secretive divorce|newspaper=North Bay Nugget|agency=QMI Agency|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=2023-11-11}}{{Cite news|url=https://newspapers.com/article/national-post-montreals-reclusive-billi/135000696/|date=1999-05-15|page=68|title=Montreal's reclusive billionaire|newspaper=National Post|location=Toronto, Ontario|agency=Financial Post|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=2023-11-11}} U.S. Department of Justice with the Central Authority of Canada suspected Future Electronics of defrauding TI, Motorola, Analog Devices and other U.S.-based companies, by falsely reporting to Texas Instruments and others the amount of their products that FEC sells.{{Cite web |last=EETimes |date=1999-11-12 |title=U.S. government outlines case against Future Electronics |url=https://www.eetimes.com/u-s-government-outlines-case-against-future-electronics/ |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=EE Times}} A few years later, in 2002, the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office announced they would not pursue charges in the matter.

In February 2023, its founder ceased to be chairman and CEO of the company amid allegations that he solicited multiple underage girls for sex, while denying the accusations.The founder of Future Electronics Robert Gerald Miller was arrested in May of 2024 on 21 sex charges involving 10 complainants, many of whom were minors when the alleged offences occurred between 1994 and 2016. One of the alleged victims was under the age of 14.{{Cite web |title= |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/robert-miller-court-1.7253165}}

In late 2023, it was announced that WT Microelectronics had entered into an agreement to acquire Future for US$3.8 billion, to be completed in the first half of 2024.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/robert-miller-future-electronic-sale-1.6966761 |title=Quebec billionaire accused of paying minors for sex to sell Future Electronics for $5B |date=September 14, 2023 |website=CBC.ca |agency=The Canadian Press}}{{Cite news |last=Dion |first=Matthieu |date=September 14, 2023 |title=Taiwan's WT Buys Future Electronics for $3.8 Billion Amid Probe of Founder |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-14/taiwan-s-wt-buys-future-electronics-for-3-8-billion-amid-probe-of-founder |work=Bloomberg News}} On April 2, 2024, WT Microelectronics of Taiwan announced it had completed the acquisition.{{Cite web|url=https://www.futureelectronics.com/blog/news/wt-microelectronics-completes-acquisition-of-future-electronics/|title=WT Microelectronics Completes Acquisition of Future Electronics|work=Future Electronics|access-date=2024-04-03|language=en}}