Sanjay Mehrotra

{{short description|Indian-American business executive and CEO of Micron}}

{{Infobox person

| honorific-prefix = Dato'

| name = Sanjay Mehrotra

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=MYS|size=100|DSPN}}

| image = Sanjay Mehrotra in Syracuse, New York (2024) 01.jpg

|caption = Mehrotra in 2024

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|06|27}}{{cite web |title=Sanjay Mehrotra |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/dlh1REZcLMssVdtIqtwR-MCATgo/appointments |website=find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk |access-date=June 27, 2023}}

| birth_place = Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

| education = BITS Pilani
UC Berkeley (BS, MS)

| spouse = Sangeeta Mehrotra

| children = 2

| title = CEO of Micron

}}

Sanjay Mehrotra is an Indian-American business executive and the CEO of Micron Technology. He was a co-founder of SanDisk, and its president and CEO from 2011 until its acquisition by Western Digital in 2016.{{cite news | publisher=SanDisk | title= SanDisk announces planned retirement of Chairman and CEO Eli Harari | url=http://www.sandisk.com/about-sandisk/press-room/press-releases/2010/2010-07-22-sandisk-announces-planned-retirement-of-chairman-ceo/ | date=2010-07-22 | accessdate=2010-07-22}}{{cite news|last1=Tallis|first1=Billy|title=Micron Hires New CEO: Sanjay Mehrotra, SanDisk Co-Founder and Former CEO|url=http://www.anandtech.com/show/11305/micron-hires-new-ceo-sanjay-mehrotra-sandisk-cofounder-and-former-ceo|accessdate=27 April 2017|publisher=Anandtech|date=27 April 2017}}

Early life and education

Mehrotra was born in 1958 in Kanpur, India.{{cite news | work=Computer History Museum | title=Oral History of Sanjay Mehrotra | url=https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2019/08/102740455-05-01-acc.pdf | date=2019-02-14 | accessdate=2021-10-11}} He is the youngest of four siblings. His father was a liaison officer in the cotton industry, who later moved the family to New Delhi when Mehrotra was 10 years old. At an early age, Mehrotra began expressing interest in math and science, and he has since said that his father and siblings played a significant role in encouraging him to pursue an education in STEM. As a teenager, he began taking mechanical courses in school and eventually transferred over to Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, a top-ranking high school in New Delhi.

Mehrotra has said that it was his father’s dream to see him continue his education in the U.S., so he committed himself to applying to American universities. At the age of 18, Mehrotra moved to the U.S., transferring from BITS Pilani to attend the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

He graduated in 2009 from Stanford University Graduate School of Business Executive Education Program.{{Cite news|url=https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/alumni/contact/alumni-association/about-alumni/sanjay-mehrotra|title=Sanjay Mehrotra|work=Stanford Graduate School of Business|access-date=2017-09-19|language=en}}

In 2022, the National Academy of Engineering elected Mehrotra as a member for his contributions to nonvolatile memory design and architecture enabling multilevel cell NAND flash products.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nae.edu/270224/National-Academy-of-Engineering-Elects-111-Members-and-22-International-Members#:~:text=The%20National%20Academy%20of%20Engineering,of%20international%20members%20to%20310.|title=National Academy of Engineering elects 111 members and 22 international members.|work=National Academy of Engineering|date=9 February 2022|language=en}} Mehrotra holds more than 70 patents.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/04/27/micron_looks_to_sandisk_for_new_ceo/|title=Micron looks to SanDisk for new CEO|last=Mellor|first=Chris|date=27 April 2017|work=The Register|access-date=2017-09-19|language=en}} He has published articles in the area of non-volatile memory design and flash memory systems.

SanDisk

Mehrotra co-founded SanDisk in 1988 and was president and CEO from 2011 until 2016. He previously was executive vice president and chief operating officer, senior vice president of engineering, vice president of product development and director of memory design and product engineering.{{cite news | work=San Jose Mercury News | title= Q&A: SanDisk CEO Sanjay Mehrotra on flash and its 3-D future | url=http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_26295010/q-sandisk-ceo-sanjay-mehrotra-flash-and-its | date=2014-08-08 | accessdate=2014-08-08}}

He has more than 35 years of experience in the non-volatile semiconductor memory industry, including engineering and management positions at SanDisk, Micron, Integrated Device Technology, SEEQ Technology, Intel, and Atmel.

Micron

Following the announcement of Mark Durcan's retirement in February 2017, Mehrotra was named chief executive officer. His appointment became effective May 8, 2017, with Durcan as an adviser to the company until early August 2017.{{Cite news|url=http://fortune.com/2017/04/27/micron-ceo-sanjay-mehrotra/|title=Chipmaker Micron Picks SanDisk Co-Founder as New CEO|date=27 April 2017|work=Fortune|access-date=19 September 2017|language=en-US}}

While CEO at Micron, Mehrotra was appointed 2019 chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association, the primary advocacy organization for the U.S. semiconductor industry.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/micron-president-and-ceo-sanjay-mehrotra-elected-chair-of-semiconductor-industry-association-300758025.html|title = Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra Elected Chair of Semiconductor Industry Association}}

Awards

Mehrotra has received the following awards and honors:

"IEEE Reynold B. Johnson Data Storage Device Technology Award" (with SanDisk co-founders Ei Harari and Jack Yuan) for "leadership in the development and commercialization of Flash electrically erasable programmable read-only memory-based data storage products", 2006.{{cite news | publisher=IEEE | title= IEEE Reynold B. Johnson Data Storage Device Technology Award | url=http://www.ieee.org/about/awards/tfas/datastorage.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520225704/http://www.ieee.org/about/awards/tfas/datastorage.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=May 20, 2010 | date=2006-06-01 | accessdate=2006-06-01}}
"CEO of the Year" from the Entrepreneur's Foundation of Silicon Valley in recognition of his leadership in advancing SanDisk's community service activities, December 10, 2013.{{cite news | publisher=Silicon Valley Community Foundation | title= Silicon Valley Community Foundation recognizes Five Award Winners at Annual Powered by EF reception | url=http://www.siliconvalleycf.org/press-release-january-7-2014 | date=2013-12-10 | accessdate=2014-01-07}}
"Distinguished Alumni Award in Electrical Engineering" from the University of California, Berkeley, 2013.{{cite news | publisher=University of California, Berkeley | title= Berkeley EECS Distinguished Alumni | url=https://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/alumni/distinguished.shtml#outstanding | date=2013-06-01 | accessdate=2013-06-01}}
Mehrotra delivered the 2014 University of California, Berkeley Graduate Engineering School commencement address.{{Cite web |last=MarketScreener |date=2014-05-19 |title=SanDisk : President, CEO and Co-Founder Challenges Graduates to Envision How They Will Shape the Future – MarketScreener |url=https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/SANDISK-CORPORATION-4843/news/SanDisk-President-CEO-and-Co-Founder-Challenges-Graduates-to-Envision-How-They-Will-Shape-the-Fut-18462817/ |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=www.marketscreener.com |language=en}}
"Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Chinese Institute of Engineers USA at the 13th annual Asian American Engineer of the Year Award ceremony March 1, 2014.{{cite news | publisher=India West | title= Lifetime Achievement Award for SanDisk's Sanjay Mehrotra | url=http://www.indiawest.com/news/business/lifetime-achievement-award-for-sandisk-s-sanjay-mehrotra/article_c292f2a3-0560-5b01-b362-70f8f347a2b4.html?mode=jqm | date=2014-03-01 | accessdate=2014-03-01}}
Mehrotra was honored by the American India Foundation for "personal philanthropic efforts and for leading SanDisk's programs to advance educational opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, March 21, 2015.{{cite news | publisher=American India Foundation | title= Annual Bay Area Gala 2015 | url=http://aif.org/event/annual-bay-area-gala-2015/ | date=2015-03-21 | accessdate=2015-03-21}}
"Philanthropic CEO of the Year" from the American Red Cross Silicon Valley for his "remarkable impact toward fulfilling [the] mission to prevent and alleviate human suffering locally, nationally and internationally," October 24, 2015.{{cite news | publisher=The Mercury News | title= Sandisk's Sanjay Mehrotra named American Red Cross' Philanthropic CEO of the Year | url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/10/08/sandisks-sanjay-mehrotra-named-american-red-cross-philanthropic-ceo-of-the-year/ | date=2015-10-08 | accessdate=2021-09-30}}
2019 Flash Memory Summit Lifetime Achievement Award for “co-founding SanDisk, advancing the architecture that enabled the industry and market for flash memory, and leadership of Micron Technology, Inc. and the Semiconductor Industry Association.”{{Cite web|url=https://flashmemorysummit.com/English/News_Info/Lifetime_Achievement_Award/Lifetime_Achievement_Award_2019.html|title=Flash Memory Lifetime Achievement Award 2019 – Sanjay Mehrotra}}
Malaysian Order of Loyal Defender of the State medal, 2021.{{Cite tweet |author=Micron Technology |author-link=Micron Technology |user=MicronTech |number=1425190447970934791 |date=August 10, 2021 |title=Congratulations to Micron's President and CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, who was granted the Malaysian Order of Loyal Defender of the State medal (formally known as Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri) by former Penang Governor, His Excellency, Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas!}}
University of California, Berkeley "Spirit of 1868 Volunteer Award," 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://awards.berkeley.edu/volunteer-awards/spirit-of-1868/recipients|title=Spirit of 1868 Volunteer Award – Past Recipients}}
Mehrotra was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2022, one of the highest distinctions in the profession.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nae.edu/19579/31222/20095/266386/270224/National-Academy-of-Engineering-Elects-111-Members-and-22-International-Members|title=National Academy of Engineering Elects 111 Members and 22 International Members}}
Boise State University awarded an honorary doctorate to Mehrotra at the university's 110th commencement ceremony in 2022. During the ceremony, Mehrotra gave the keynote commencement address.{{Cite news |title=Spring Commencement 2022 honorary doctorate: Sanjay Mehrotra |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K71fUhQLMQ0 |access-date=2022-08-18 |work=YouTube, Boise State University |language=en}}
Mehrotra received the Semiconductor Industry Association’s Robert N. Noyce Award, one of the industry’s highest honors, in 2023 for his contributions to the semiconductor industry.{{Cite web |last=Ravi |first=Sarah |date=2023-09-07 |title=Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra to Receive Semiconductor Industry's Top Honor |url=https://www.semiconductors.org/micron-ceo-sanjay-mehrotra-to-receive-semiconductor-industrys-top-honor/ |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Semiconductor Industry Association |language=en-US}}
The Indian Institute of Management Mumbai honored Mehrotra with the Lakshya Business Visionary Award in 2023. {{Cite web |title=Indian Institute of Management Mumbai on LinkedIn: #avartan2023 #lakshya #businessvisionaryaward #iimmumbai |url=https://www.linkedin.com/posts/national-institute-of-industrial-engineering_avartan2023-lakshya-businessvisionaryaward-activity-7121492441475485696-1yzD |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=www.linkedin.com |language=en}}
The Rochester Institute of Technology conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters to Mehrotra in 2024.{{Cite web |title=RIT to confer four honorary degrees at May 10 commencement ceremony |url=https://www.rit.edu/news/rit-confer-four-honorary-degrees-may-10-commencement-ceremony |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=RIT |language=en}}

Activities

In April 2014, Mehrotra along with Shankar Sastry, dean and Carlson professor of engineering at UC Berkeley, opened the SanDisk Computing Lab at the College of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. The lab was funded by a $1 million donation by SanDisk to the College of Engineering. The donation also funded recently completed renovations to Cory Hall, home of the College's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences.{{cite web |title=SanDisk Donates $1 Million to UC Berkeley College of Engineering |url=https://direporter.com/products/storage/sandisk-donates-1-million-uc-berkeley-college-engineering |website=Digital Imaging Reporter |access-date=June 30, 2023 |date=April 22, 2014}}

As of 2024, Mehrotra is on the board of directors for Micron Technology, CDW, and the Semiconductor Industry Association.