Broadcom

Hock Tan arrived at Broadcom in two thousand and six observing divisions operating like separate companies. Each had its own engineering, management, and R&D. Divisions competed for resources. Capital flowed to executives who argued loudest. Tan saw waste. Bought Infineon's wireless division at below market rate and gutted the R&D team. The economics seemed destructive. A wireless chipmaker needs continuous innovation, right? Tan knew standards updated every three to four years. New entrants mattered less than retaining customers. Minimum R&D kept products good enough. Customers stayed. Prices rose. Operating margins climbed to forty-two percent while competitors sat at fourteen to eighteen percent.