# Robert H. Swanson Jr.

> Robert H. Swanson Jr., known as Bob Swanson, co-founded Linear Technology in 1981 after working at Transitron, Fairchild and National Semiconductor. He served as CEO until January 2005 and then executive chairman until the company’s acquisition by Analog Devices in 2017. His public interviews emphasize analog engineering, manufacturing discipline, customer trust and retaining technical talent.

- **Role:** Semiconductor executive, industrial engineer and entrepreneur
- **Organizations:** Linear Technology, National Semiconductor, Fairchild Semiconductor, Transitron Electronics, Analog Devices
- **Education:** Wentworth Institute of Technology, B.S. in Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Linear Technology in 1981., Led Linear as CEO from incorporation until January 2005., Shared the 2015 EDN/EE Times ACE Lifetime Achievement Award with Bob Dobkin.

## Career timeline

- **1960** — Joined Transitron Electronics; began work involving statistics and semiconductor production.
- **1963** — Joined Fairchild Semiconductor in San Rafael, California, according to his oral history.
- **1968-08** — Joined National Semiconductor; later served as European managing director and VP/general manager of the Linear Integrated Circuit Operation.
- **1981-07** — Left National Semiconductor.
- **1981-09** — Co-founded Linear Technology and became president, CEO and a director.
- **1999-04** — Became chairman and CEO of Linear Technology.
- **2005-01** — Became executive chairman; Lothar Maier succeeded him as CEO.
- **2015-07** — Received an ACE Lifetime Achievement Award with Bob Dobkin.
- **2017-03** — Analog Devices completed the acquisition of Linear; Swanson joined its board.
- **2017-06** — Resigned from the Analog Devices board for personal reasons.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Linear Technology in 1981.
- Led Linear as CEO from incorporation until January 2005.
- Shared the 2015 EDN/EE Times ACE Lifetime Achievement Award with Bob Dobkin.
- Linear had achieved 70 consecutive profitable quarters by May 2004.

## Latest updates

- **2017-06** — Resigned from the Analog Devices board for personal reasons, as reported in its 2018 proxy.
- **2017-03** — Joined the Analog Devices board following the completed acquisition of Linear Technology.

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/robert-swanson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23