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Fairchild Senior VP Joseph Martin to Speak at Embry-Riddle Commencement

Commencement will be held at 10 a.m. on the university's West Lawn, between the John Paul Riddle Student Center and the Capt. Willie Miller Instructional Center.

Martin, who is also vice chairman of Fairchild's Board of Directors, has more than 23 years of experience in the semiconductor industry. Previously, he was a founder and the chief financial officer of VTC Inc. and later vice president of finance for National Semiconductor.

In 1996, Martin and Kirk Pond founded Fairchild Semiconductor as a spinoff from National Semiconductor, the first management-led buyout in the history of the semiconductor industry. They launched Fairchild as a public company on the New York Stock Exchange in 1999 and grew their company to peak revenue of $2 billion in 2001.

Fairchild is a leading global supplier of high-performance products for multiple-end markets. Providing power and interface solutions for electronics, Fairchild's components are used in automotive, communications, computing, consumer, and industrial applications. These parts include analog and mixed signal, interface, logic, optoelectronics, and power products.

Fairchild has more than 10,000 employees, with sales offices throughout the world and facilities in China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Mountain Top, Pa., and Salt Lake City, Utah. The corporate offices are in South Portland, Maine.

In 2000, Martin was the winner of CFO Magazine's CFO of the Year Excellence Award in the Turnaround Management category. He is a frequent guest speaker on industrywide forums and panels and at universities. As an industry expert and global businessman, he is frequently invited by members of the U.S. Congress to offer his views on issues affecting the global economy and worldwide markets.

In addition to Fairchild Semiconductor, Martin also serves on the Board of Directors of Brooks Automation and SynQor. He was recently elected to the President's Advisory Board at his alma mater, Embry-Riddle. Martin graduated from Embry-Riddle in 1974 with a BS in aeronautics. He served as a member of the student senate, was elected the senior class president, and was the class speaker at his commencement. He earned an MBA from the University of Maine in 1976.

Martin was a helicopter pilot and captain in the U.S. Army. He served for six years, including two tours of duty in the Republic of Vietnam, where he flew UH-1 Hueys and AH-1G Cobras. He earned the Bronze Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Vietnamese Cross of Galantry, and many commendation awards. Martin also spent two years as an instructor pilot at the U.S. Army Aviation School at Ft. Rucker, Ala. He has logged more than 4,000 hours of rotary-wing time.

Embry-Riddle, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates more than 25,000 students annually through the master's level at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., at more than 130 teaching centers in the United States and Europe, and through distance learning.

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