Biography - Ollie Althorpe

Ollie Althorpe was born in Kettering England in 1950. He trained in control and electronics engineering with the Royal Navy for five years, and then spent a further seven years as an engineer working on submarines.

His career in the electronics industry began in 1980 when he joined Texas Instruments (TI) as a Field Sales Engineer within the consumer segment. Between 1980 and 1983 he rose to become the Consumer Regional Sales Manager and in 1984 he was appointed Regional Sales Manager for a newly formed UK Geographic Segment within TI.

In 1985, Althorpe joined SGS as the UK & Eire Distribution and Industrial Segment Manager and successfully merged the distribution networks of the newly created SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics (now STMicroelectronics), enabling ST to become the UK’s largest supplier into the distribution market some three years later.

After many varied roles in sales and marketing at ST in Europe and the USA he was appointed Area Manager, UK and Ireland, in 2001.

Outside of ST, Ollie Althorpe served as a Board Member for the DTi’s Electronic Innovation Growth Team, considering the future of the UK Electronics Industry. He is also a Board Director of Semta, the industry’s Skills Council, currently Chairing the Investment Committee. He is also the Chair of Electronics in Schools, an organisation funded by the DfES targeted at supporting teachers to promote and teach electronics to our future engineers.