Christine King
About Christine King
Christine King, age 75, is Chairman of the Board at Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (appointed February 2025). She has served on the Board since 2014 and was Lead Independent Director from 2019 to February 2025; she is independent under Nasdaq rules and designated an Audit Committee Financial Expert. Her background includes CEO roles across semiconductor companies and an Executive Chairman role at QLogic, bringing deep operational, strategic, and financial expertise to board oversight .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMI Semiconductor, Inc. | Chief Executive Officer | 2001–2008 | Led a publicly traded semiconductor company to acquisition by ON Semiconductor |
| Standard Microsystems Corp. | Chief Executive Officer | 2008–2012 | Drove strategic and financial execution; acquired by Microchip Technology |
| QLogic Corporation | Executive Chairman | Aug 2015–Aug 2016 | Oversaw server/storage networking company through sale to Cavium |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure (most recent 5 years) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. | Director | Until 2021 | Former public board; no current directorships |
| IDACORP, Inc. | Director | Until 2021 | Former public board; no current directorships |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Audit Committee member; Compensation Committee Chair. Following the 2025 Annual Meeting, the Board anticipates she will rotate off the Compensation Committee and a new Chair will be selected .
- Independence: The Board determined she is independent; eight of nine directors are independent .
- Meeting cadence and attendance: FY2024 meetings—Board (5); Audit (8); Compensation (5); Nominating & Corporate Governance (3). Each director attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings; all directors attended the 2024 Annual Meeting .
- Leadership: Board separated CEO and Chair roles with King as independent Chairman; independent directors met in executive session four times in FY2024 .
- Stockholder engagement: King (then Lead Independent Director and Compensation Chair) participated in investor outreach; feedback drove extending performance and vesting periods for the EBITDA metric in FY2025 PSAs .
| Committee | King’s Role | FY2024 Meetings |
|---|---|---|
| Audit Committee | Member; Financial Expert | 8 |
| Compensation Committee | Chair | 5 |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | FY2024 Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fees Earned (Cash) | $172,500 | Quarterly director retainer plus role-based and committee fees |
| Equity (RSUs) | $225,042 | 2,272 RSUs granted May 14, 2024; value at $99.05/share; annual grant typically vests in 1 year |
Reference fee schedule for non‑employee directors (paid quarterly): annual retainer $90,000; independent Chairman $130,000; Lead Independent Director $50,000; Audit Chair $30,000; Comp Chair $20,000; NCGC Chair $15,000; Audit member $15,000; Comp member $10,000; NCGC member $7,500 .
Performance Compensation
As Compensation Committee Chair, King oversees executive pay design. FY2024 PSAs balanced three metrics and multi‑year vesting for longer-term alignment:
| Metric | Weight of PSA | Performance Period | Vesting | Threshold | Target | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerging Revenue Growth (%) | 25% | FY2024 | 100% at End of Year 2 | 5.0% | 10.0% | 15.0% |
| EBITDA Margin Percentile (vs FY24 Peer Group) | 25% | FY2024–FY2025 | 100% at End of Year 2 | 25th | 55th | 75th |
| TSR Percentile (vs S&P 500 cohort) | 50% | FY2024–FY2026 | 100% at End of Year 3 | 25th | 55th | 90th |
Notably, in response to investor feedback, the Compensation Committee increased both performance and vesting periods for the EBITDA margin percentile metric for FY2025 PSAs to three years .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Current public boards: None .
- Compensation Committee interlocks: None; no member was an officer/employee; no reciprocal committee relationships with SWKS executives .
- Director commitments: Company reviews public board commitments annually; all 2025 nominees comply with policy limits .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Audit Committee Financial Expert and “financial sophistication” under Nasdaq rules .
- Extensive senior leadership in semiconductors (CEO roles; Executive Chairman) with strategy, operations, capital markets, and M&A experience .
- Active in stockholder engagement informing pay-for-performance program evolution .
Equity Ownership
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership | 23,057 shares (<1% of outstanding) as of March 1, 2025 |
| Unvested RSUs (not counted in beneficial ownership table) | 2,078 shares |
| Pledging/Hedging | Prohibited for directors; company bans pledging and hedging transactions |
| Director stock ownership guideline | Minimum shares equal to 5× base director compensation ($90,000) divided by 12‑month average share price; all non‑employee directors met guidelines (Turcke exempt until 5th anniversary) |
Governance Assessment
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Strengths:
- Independent Chair with deep semiconductor operating experience and designated Audit Financial Expert overseeing both audit and compensation domains .
- Robust governance practices: majority voting for directors, executive sessions, director ownership requirements, prohibitions on hedging/pledging, proxy access, and active investor outreach .
- Pay program enhancements responsive to investors (longer multi‑year EBITDA metric), diversified PSA metrics including TSR, and use of an independent consultant (Aon; no conflicts) .
-
Watch items / potential red flags:
- Tenure: Director since 2014; while experience adds continuity, long tenure can raise entrenchment concerns if not balanced by refreshment—Board added four new directors since 2022 .
- Supermajority charter provisions remain; shareholders approved an advisory simple-majority proposal in 2025, but legacy supermajority eliminations previously failed, requiring continued Board action to implement change .
- CEO pay ratio at 574× (FY2024), placing scrutiny on Compensation Committee oversight, though overall say‑on‑pay support remains strong (2024: ~88%) .
2025 Annual Meeting Results (governance signals)
| Proposal | For | Against | Abstain | Broker Non-Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elect Christine King | 113,789,103 | 6,550,718 | 208,519 | 13,592,325 |
| Ratify KPMG (FY2025) | 122,667,571 | 7,959,671 | 3,513,423 | 0 |
| Say‑on‑Pay (Advisory) | 109,555,560 | 10,622,778 | 370,002 | 13,592,325 |
| Stockholder Proposal: Simple Majority Vote | 117,507,516 | 1,398,978 | 956,181 | 13,592,325 |
| Stockholder Proposal: Scope 3 Emissions Disclosure | 26,253,902 | 93,854,715 | 439,723 | 13,592,325 |
Related‑Party Transactions
No transactions over $120,000 involving directors or related persons since September 30, 2023, other than standard compensation arrangements; all related‑party transactions require Audit Committee approval per policy .
Director Compensation Mix (structure)
- Cash retainers and role‑based fees; RSU equity grants sized at ~$225,000 for non‑employee directors and ~$250,000 for the non‑employee Chairman; annual RSUs typically vest in one year; initial RSUs vest over three years .
- King FY2024 total: $397,542 (cash $172,500; equity $225,042) .
Overall, Christine King’s independent board leadership, compensation governance responsiveness, and financial expertise support investor confidence. Key governance follow‑through includes addressing remaining supermajority provisions in line with 2025 shareholder support and continued transparency on pay outcomes and metrics .