Qualcomm picks successor to retiring general counsel

Qualcomm has hired Ann Chaplin as general counsel and corporate secretary, effective November 1. She will report to president and CEO Cristiano Amon.

Chaplin succeeds Don Rosenberg, who has been general counsel and corporate secretary with the San Diego, California-based company since 2007. He will shift into a role as special adviser for policy, regulation and strategic initiatives with Qualcomm until his retirement at the end of the year.

Chaplin was most recently corporate secretary and deputy general counsel at General Motors (GM). In that role her responsibilities 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 matters.

Her work with GM over almost six years has included litigation of cases ranging from class actions to product litigation, antitrust, intellectual property, securities and multidistrict matters.

Before working at GM, Chaplin was a partner at Fish & Richardson, where she managed the law 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.

Before joining Qualcomm, Rosenberg was senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Apple. Before that, he was senior vice president and general counsel of IBM Corporation, a company where he also held positions such as vice president and assistant general counsel for litigation and counsel to IBM's mainframe division.

‘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,’ Amon says in a statement.

‘On behalf of Qualcomm, we thank Don for his many years of service and significant contributions to our success. 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 adviser to governments and leaders who know how important innovation is to their economies and citizens.’