Scott McGregor Philips | Netherlands
Most technology executives are lucky to be part of one revolution; few would even dream of being involved in two. So envy 48-year-old Scott McGregor, who two decades ago led the development of the Windows operating system at Microsoft. Today, as chief executive of Philips Semiconductors, he is spearheading the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) movement, which aims to put electronic ID chips on everything from ketchup bottles to army tanks. The RFID chip, says McGregor, "is changing the way people do business and interact."
Sounds like hype, but it's true. RFID tags are tiny devices that transmit information about the objects on which they reside. Relatively unknown just a few years ago, RFID chips are potentially the greatest technology to hit retailing since the bar code, as giant retailers like Metro in Germany and Wal-Mart in the U.S. use them to track shipments and inventory. The U.S. Department of Defense has ordered suppliers to deploy them to help the military keep tabs on stocks of essentials, such as jeep parts, and Las Vegas casinos are snapping them into poker chips to tally bets. Little wonder that market-analysis firm AMR Research predicts a $20 billion RFID industry by 2013.
So far, Philips appears to be on top. McGregor says his firm has shipped about a billion RFID chips, far more than rivals like Texas Instruments. Philips started 10 years ago, selling rudimentary chips to European car companies as antitheft devices. When McGregor took over the semiconductor division three years ago, he identified RFID as a key profit center. His plan is working. A three-year sales slump seems to be over, and after a long string of losses, the €5 billion division has reported two consecutive profitable quarters. What's his secret? "Ease of use is in my blood," says McGregor. Of course, RFID won't approach $20 billion until several problems are resolved prices have to fall and privacy concerns must be addressed. But its impact is already here and it makes you wonder what McGregor will do for a hat trick. By Mark Halper
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