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Deal After Deal While Bleeding Orange
Jim Peterson's 31st deal at the helm of Microsemi Corp. will likely be his last, cementing a legacy that extends well beyond Orange County's business community.
Peterson, who took the top management post in 2000 at the Aliso Viejo-based chipmaker, is an A-lister in philanthropic circles and corporate engagement.
Consider the long list of nonprofits and educational centers the company has supported under his watch: MIND Research Institute, Discovery Cube Orange County, Court Appointed Special Advocates of OC; Talk about Curing Autism; Project Hope Alliance; Pacific Symphony; Mission San Juan Capistrano; and The Academy Charter High School, a community project of Orangewood Children's Foundation.
Then there are the board commitments, a roster that has included University of California-Irvine Board of Trustees; UCI's Engineering Industry Advisory Board and Paul Merage School of Business Advisory Council; Chapman University's Board of Trustees; and SOKA University in Aliso Viejo.
Add corporate sponsorships at the Honda Center, Angel Stadium and Pacific Symphony.
Microsemi, a gold sponsor at the recently concluded Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach Country Club, hosted the third annual Military Appreciation Day on March 10, when 3,000 military family members received free admission.
The company welcomed the Los Angeles Rams to town in 2016, taking naming rights to their practice and training facility at UCI. The one-year sponsorship cost $100,000, according to a contract obtained by the Business Journal.
Peterson, who became board chairman in 2013, has overseen 27 acquisitions and three divestitures during his tenure, but Microsemi's pending $10.1 billion sale to Microchip Technology Inc. in Chandler, Ariz., highlights his...