NMI Awards - the winners

Simon Knowles co-founded Bristol-based Icera Semiconductor in 2002, which grew to over 300 people across seven countries and built a portfolio of more than 550 patents. Nvidia acquired the fabless software modem chip company earlier this year for $367 million. Simon also co-founded the ADSL chip firm Element 14, which was sold to Broadcom in 2000 for $640 million, and established the Element 14 design centre in Bristol.



Dr Georges Karam founded Sequans Communications in 2003 to address the WiMAX market, expanding in 2009 to exploit the LTE opportunity. Sequans has rapidly grown to become a world-leading 4G communications chip designer and Europe's third largest fabless semiconductor company.



The joint winners were selected from independent nominations by Dr Hossein Yassei, CEO of Imagination Technologies and ARM's founder, Sir Robin Saxby.



Dr Derek Boyd, CEO of NMI said: This is the first time a joint winner of any category has been announced. This unprecedented decision celebrates the outstanding entrepreneurial spirit and success that both individuals have displayed in a fiercely competitive global technology marketplace.



Technology Entrepreneur is one of two new categories introduced in 2011 and joins the Semi360 award, which reflects an imperative for chip companies to provide complete solutions. The Semi360 category was won by Bristol-based start-up Gnodal.



The full list of NMI Award winners announced on the night were:



• Technology Entrepreneur* Dr Georges Karam and Simon Knowles

• Young Engineer of the Year Alan Coombs (Neul)

• Environmental Management International Rectifier

• Semi360* Gnodal

• Manufacturing Site of the Year Diodes Incorporated

• Innovation Neul

• R&D Achievement Plessey Semiconductors

• Skills, Training & Development* Diodes Incorporated

• Low Power Green Design Aspex Semiconductor

• Supplier of the Year Multilab

• Product Excellence Freescale

• UKESF Scholar of the Year Adam Malpass (Southampton University)



The awards promote practices conducive to the long-term health of the UK's Electronic Systems community. Now in its ninth year, the NMI awards ceremony was held at the Wyndham Grand Chelsea Harbour, London and attracted over 300 guests from throughout the UK and around the world. The celebrity speaker was Private Eye and Radio 4's Dr Phil Hammond.