Ann Chaplin joins Qualcomm as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Qualcomm announced that Ann Chaplin has been appointed general counsel and corporate secretary, reporting directly to Cristiano Amon, president and chief executive officer of Qualcomm Incorporated, effective November 1.
Don Rosenberg, general counsel and corporate secretary since 2007, will serve as Special Advisor for Policy, Regulation and Strategic Initiatives until his retirement at the end of the year.
“We are excited to welcome Ann to Qualcomm at a time when we see demand for our technologies across virtually every industry and we are positioning the company to execute on one of the largest growth opportunities in our history,” said Cristiano Amon, president and chief executive officer, Qualcomm Incorporated. “Ann’s broad experience makes her ideally suited for this role as we accelerate our growth in new industries and continue to develop our industry-leading innovations.”
Chaplin brings deep expertise across a range of legal, business and technology areas, with an extensive portfolio of work in litigation and transactional matters, expert knowledge in intellectual property law and management, and varied responsibilities in many areas of corporate law and governance.
Most recently, Chaplin has served as corporate secretary and deputy general counsel for General Motors (GM), with significant responsibilities that included assisting in 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 directly managed many areas across GM’s legal operations at various times, including the litigation of thousands of cases ranging from class actions to complex product litigation, antitrust, IP, securities, and multidistrict matters.
Prior to GM, Chaplin was a partner at Fish & Richardson, where she managed the firm’s litigation practice group and focused on patent, trade secret, trademark and copyright litigation. She was a member of the firm’s management committee and led its Minneapolis office. Chaplin earned her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School and bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota.
“On behalf of Qualcomm, we thank Don for his many years of service and significant contributions to our success,” said Cristiano Amon. “Don’s leadership and strategic thinking have helped the company overcome challenges and thrive as we invented and brought leading wireless technologies to the world. His expertise also made him a trusted policy advisor to governments and leaders who know how important innovation is to their economies and citizens.”