As we look ahead to the new year, here is our Component Editor David Manners' suggestion for...

The five most interesting people to watch in the semiconductor industry in 2009:

1. Warren East, CEO ARM

Because ARM ventures out of its comfort zone this year and Intel might be trying to get into it. ARM-based chip-sets from Qualcomm and Freescale are going for the MID/Netbook market. If they succeed in a market expected to hit 140m units this year, then ARM is poised to enter the laptop chip-set market. If they don't, then Intel is poised to go for ARM's core market - the cellphone business.

2. Stan Boland, Founder & CEO Icera

Because Icera has to get through an IPO-less 2009 by winning some decent wireless design-ins to generate the revenues to keep paying the bills. The IPO market looks like being closed all year, and Icera has already raised $200m in venture capital making it one of the most expensive chip start-ups ever funded.

3. Rich Beyer, CEO Freescale

Because he has the toughest job in the semiconductor industry - keeping Freescale going strong while the repayments on the debt imposed on it by private equity owner Blackstone, amounting to $700m a year, are paid. Beyer is going about this in traditional semiconductor style with an innovation-based approach to the Freescale product line.

4. Peter Claydon, Founder & COO picoChip

Because the Wimax market could be a big deal in 2009 and picoChip, a long-time supplier of chips to Wimax infrastructure manufacturers, could find itself up against significant competitors. The same applies to picoChip's emerging market area femtocells where the company will have to show that it can provide cost/performance advantages compared to new entrants.

5. Shozo Saito, CEO Toshiba Semiconductors

Because the memory market is a mess and Toshiba has invested massively in NAND flash. Also Toshiba's IP and development partner SanDisk is under threat from Samsung which wants to take it over. Saito has to persuade Toshiba Corporate that the NAND flash business is a good one to stay in, and has to persuade SanDisk not to give in to Samsung's takeover attempts.

See also: Mannerisms, the blog of David Manners. Updated twice daily, it's the distinctive, entertaining, authoritative and never dull commentary on the semiconductor industry, from someone who knows. Sign up for the Mannerisms eNewsletter.

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