Rosenberg, former general counsel of IBM Corp. and Apple Inc., joined Qualcomm in San Diego in 2007. At the time, the company was in litigation with Nokia Corp., Broadcom Inc. and the European Commission`s Directorate-General for Competition in Brussels over antitrust legislation and intellectual property rights. During his 14 years at Qualcomm, Rosenberg helped the chipmaker fight major legal battles with rival tech giants and the FTC, and also thwarted an attempt at a hostile takeover of the company. Chaplin was until recently general secretary and deputy general counsel at General Motors (GM). In this role, his responsibilities included supporting the overall management of the legal department, overseeing corporate governance, advising on product and technology transformation initiatives, managing the interface with the Board of Directors, leading the securities team, and advising on ESG issues. Qualcomm announced Friday that Donald Rosenberg, the San Diego-based company`s senior in-house attorney who has led the company through grueling, multi-year litigation with global regulators and Apple, is retiring after 14 years. Few, if any, in-house leaders are as seasoned as Donald Rosenberg, who helped Qualcomm Inc. overcome a series of business, legal and regulatory challenges and secure its place as a U.S. leader in 5G technology during his tenure as the chipmaker`s general counsel. Chaplin joined GM in 2015 as deputy general counsel after holding litigation and leadership positions at Fish & Richardson, a national law firm.
His responsibilities included assisting with the overall management of the legal department, managing transactions, litigation and regulatory affairs, overseeing corporate governance and leading the securities team. She received her law degree from Harvard Law School. Adam Schwenker is Vice President and General Counsel at Qualcomm Incorporated. He is also counsel to Qualcomm Ventures. In addition, Adam is a member of Qualcomm`s legal mergers and acquisitions team, leads Qualcomm`s corporate secretarial group, and provides general legal support to other business and research groups within Qualcomm and its subsidiaries. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are external online distributors of ALM`s extensive collection of current and archived versions of legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law clients may access and use ALM content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, New York Law Journal and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information. Chaplin has deep expertise in a range of legal, commercial and technological areas with an extensive litigation and transaction portfolio, expertise in intellectual property law and management, and various responsibilities in numerous areas of corporate law and corporate governance.
More recently, Mr. Chaplin served as General Secretary and Deputy General Counsel for General Motors (GM), including supporting the overall management of the legal department, overseeing corporate governance, advising on product and technology transformation initiatives, managing the interface with the Board of Directors, leading the securities team, and advising on ESG initiatives. Chaplin has directly led many areas of GM`s legal operations at various times, including litigation in thousands of cases ranging from class action lawsuits and complex product litigation to antitrust, intellectual property, securities and multi-district matters. Prior to GM, Chaplin was a partner at Fish & Richardson, where she led the litigation practice and focused on patent, trade secret, trademark and copyright litigation. She was a member of the company`s executive committee and led the Minneapolis office. Chaplin received his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and his bachelor`s degree from the University of Minnesota. Outside of Qualcomm, Rosenberg has served on the boards of NuVasive, the Corporate Directors Forum, Rady Children`s Hospital San Diego, and Sanford Burnham Preby`s Medical Discovery Institute. He is also a member of the International Advisory Board of UC San Diego`s School of Global Policy and Strategy. SAN DIEGO, Oct. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that Ann Chaplin has been appointed General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, effective November 1, reporting directly to Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. Don Rosenberg, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since 2007, will serve as Special Advisor on Policy, Regulation and Strategic Initiatives until his retirement at the end of the year.
“On behalf of Qualcomm, we thank Don for his many years of service and significant contribution to our success,” said Cristiano Amon. “Don`s leadership and strategic thinking helped the company overcome challenges and succeed as we invented and brought cutting-edge wireless technologies to the world. His expertise has also made him a trusted policy advisor to governments and leaders who know how important innovation is to their economies and citizens. The lawsuits filed by Apple and the FTC were the most well-known cases. With Apple, the dispute was settled in April 2019 shortly after the opening of the arguments. Apple has agreed to license Qualcomm`s patents for six years and buy its modem chips for iPhones for an unknown number of years. Mr. Chaplin succeeds Don Rosenberg, who has served as general counsel and corporate secretary of the San Diego, California-based firm since 2007. He will serve as Special Advisor for Policy, Regulation and Strategic Initiatives at Qualcomm until his retirement at the end of the year.
Prior to Qualcomm, Mr. Schwenker was an attorney in the Corporate and Securities group at Gray Cary (now DLA Piper) in San Diego, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions and venture capital financing transactions. Rosenberg, 70, joined Qualcomm in 2007 after a brief stint at Apple and years at IBM. At the time, Qualcomm was fighting Nokia in court over its patent licensing practices. Nearly a decade later, Qualcomm has once again battled attacks on its patent licensing business model. These included antitrust investigations from China, Taiwan, South Korea and the European Union, as well as antitrust lawsuits from Apple and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. “We are pleased to welcome Ann to Qualcomm at a time when we are seeing demand for our technologies in virtually every industry and positioning the company to capitalize on one of the greatest growth opportunities in our history,” said Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. “Ann`s extensive experience makes her ideal for this role as we accelerate our growth into new industries and further develop our cutting-edge innovations. Rosenberg was also involved in Qualcomm`s efforts to fend off a hostile takeover by Broadcom in 2018, and he led the company`s efforts on government affairs, particularly working with governments on the role of innovation for their economies and citizens. If you have any questions, call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected] Prior to GM, Chaplin was a partner at Fish & Richardson, where she led the firm`s litigation practice, focusing on patent, trade secret, trademark and copyright litigation. She was a member of the company`s executive committee and led the Minneapolis office.
Qualcomm won the FTC battle in the Federal Court of Appeals in 2020 and effectively closed the case. This trial was settled on the eve of the trial. Soon after, the company faced a patent dispute with Broadcom, which was also resolved. “His wisdom, leadership and strategic thinking have helped the company overcome extraordinary challenges,” CEO Cristiano Amon said in a statement. Qualcomm Contacts: Pete Lancia, Corporate CommunicationsPhone: 1-858-845-5959Email: [email protected]. Mr. Schwenker holds a B.A. from UCLA and a J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley. “We are thrilled to welcome Ann to Qualcomm at a time when we are seeing demand for our technologies in virtually every industry and positioning the company to capitalize on one of the greatest growth opportunities in our history,” Amon said in a statement.
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