Micron Technology Inc. was unquestionably Steve Appleton’s company. “It was ruled by one guy,” former Micron employees and Boise semiconductor analyst Mike Howard said.
For the years that have coincided closely with Appleton’s time and corporate climb at Micron, this has also been Boise’s company. The Treasure Valley’s connection to the global and fiercely competitive computer chip sector, Micron has been one of the Valley’s largest private employers.
On Friday, Appleton left a void at Micron, and in a Valley he supported with his generosity and philanthropy. He died suddenly and too soon while pursuing one of his off-hours passions: flying. Appleton died at age 51 — too young for someone who, as Gov. Butch Otter said Friday, “lived life to the fullest.”
The fact that Appleton lived so much of that life in Boise, and poured so much of his considerable energy and vision into Micron, is the product of remarkable timing, a confluence of events more than three decades ago.
Appleton arrived in the Treasure Valley to attend Boise State University on a tennis scholarship. Tennis and college provided his way out of a tough neighborhood in his native Los Angeles. In a 1996 profile in Business Week, Appleton said a shotgun blast killed one of his childhood friends, while some of his other friends ended up in prison. “It was sticks in elementary school, knives in junior high, and guns in high school,” Appleton told Business Week’s Peter Burrows.
Appleton graduated from BSU in 1982. A year later, he landed a job at the nascent Micron — a small company founded by twin brothers Ward and Joe Parkinson and funded, in large measure, by potato magnate J.R. Simplot.
By 1991, Appleton was Micron’s president and chief operating officer of Micron. By 1994, he was appointed to the position of chairman, chief executive officer and president, and has been chairman and CEO since 2007.
Perhaps it was the unorthodox career track that took Appleton to the CEO’s post. Or perhaps, it was his 18-year tenure as CEO. Either way, Appleton seemed to remember where he started; one of his contributions to the community, and one of the structures that will carry his name, is the tennis complex at BSU.
Appleton also maintained a tie to the Micron campus where he launched his career — even in challenging times. In the competitive computer chip sector, cost is a single overriding driver. A Boise manufacturing plant sat half a planet removed from the ultimate markets for much of Micron’s product. It was perhaps inevitable that, in 2009, Micron ended its chip manufacturing in Boise. Still, the company retained a work force of more than 5,000.
The company now faces a future without the man who had been its public face and its leader for the better part of two decades. It is a time of transition and uncertainty. Last week, Micron president and chief operating officer Mark Durcan announced his plans to retire — but on Friday, he agreed to stay on as interim CEO.
We hope the new Micron, in whatever form it takes, builds on Appleton’s legacy in the Valley. But there will be other days for that discussion. Today is a day to mourn loss — one shared by a family, a company and a community.
“Our View” is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman’s editorial board. To comment on an editorial or suggest a topic, email editorial@idahostatesman.com.
