Melbourne, Fl., USA - July 30, 2010, Melbourne, Fl., USA - AuthenTec announced that its president Larry Ciaccia has been appointed to the newly created position of president and chief operating officer, effective immediately.
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Mr. Ciaccia oversees the company's worldwide marketing and sales operations. Mr. Ciaccia has 25-years experience in the semiconductor and wireless industry.
Prior to joining AuthenTec, Mr. Ciaccia was vice president and general manager of the Wireless Data and Networking Component Products unit at Conexant, the former PRISM WLAN business unit of Intersil.
While at Intersil, he spearheaded the development and ramp up of the company’s PRISM 802.11 Wi-Fi initiative, and led the total business as general manager as it grew rapidly from $20 million to $200 million and 300 employees.
In his role as vice president and general manager, Mr. Ciaccia also was instrumental in Intersil’s highly successful initial public offering and sale of the wireless business to GlobespanVirata, which subsequently merged with Conexant.
Mr. Ciaccia began his career in 1980 with Harris Semiconductor, which later became Intersil, and held numerous technical and management positions of increasing responsibility. Mr. Ciaccia earned a BSEE degree from Clarkson University in New York and an MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.
The company also announced the resignation of Gary Larsen, Chief Financial Officer, who is leaving to pursue another CFO opportunity at a larger enterprise.
Mr. Larsen has been AuthenTec’s Chief Financial Officer since December 2006. From April 2005 to December 2006, Mr. Larsen served as CFO of Artesyn Technologies, Inc., a designer and supplier of power conversion and embedded board solutions.
Mr. Larsen also served as Artesyn's Corporate Controller from May 1999 to April 2005. Prior to joining Artesyn, Mr. Larsen served in a variety of management positions with W.R. Grace & Co. Mr. Larsen began his career with KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP. ■