Dr. James H. Thompson

Dr. James H. Thompson serves as executive vice president, engineering for Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and chief technology officer. In this role he is responsible for global research and development activities associated with all wireless chipsets in QCT, Qualcomm’s semiconductor business, as well as overseeing the companywide technical and product roadmaps across all business areas. Additionally, Thompson has oversight for CR&D and corporate engineering.

Thompson has overseen hardware and systems engineering activities in QCT since 2001 and all of QCT engineering since 2004. Prior to joining QCT, Thompson led Qualcomm’s Globalstar engineering team and was also part of the team that developed the CDMA cellular standard. He has been a member of Qualcomm’s Executive Committee since 2012.

Thompson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as his doctorate in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Thompson serves on the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) Board of Trustees, a nearly 100-year-old foundation that supports research and technology transfer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also a member of the NSF Engineering Advisory Committee of the National Science Foundation as well as a member of the Council of Advisors for the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California, San Diego.