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Photograph by George Sakkestad

Saratoga resident George Wells greeted friend and former co-worker of 45 years Clifford Smedley and his wife, Sheila, at the reception to celebrate the release of his book, 'American Dream in A Kilt,' on Sept. 21 at La Rinconada. Wells came to America from Scotland in 1960 and had an impressive career in the semiconductor industry, serving as the CEO of many companies.

Soccer's loss is the business world's gain

By Jennifer M. van der Kleut

George Wells thinks his fate was decided for him at birth. It just took him 15 years or so to find out what that fate was.

As a strapping young lad, Wells, who grew up in Scotland, thought he was destined to be a professional soccer player and it was his oldest brother who was meant to be the career man. That is, until one day when their paths did a bit of a switcheroo.

"My eldest brother was a very smart mathematician. He started college but dropped out because he felt he should start working right away to bring money home to the family," Wells recalls. "Our other brother wouldn't do it ... so I have a very strong feeling that, when I was born, I was destined to be the one son of my mother's that went to university."

One day, a teenage Wells was running out the door to a soccer game when his mother stopped him.

"She said to me, 'What do you want to do with your life?' and I said, 'I want to play for the Rangers,' " Wells recalls, referring to his favorite Scottish soccer team. "She said, 'No, I don't mean that. How are you going to make a living?' and I said, again, 'By being a Ranger.' I was in such a hurry to get to my game that I finally just said, 'What are you saying, you want me to go to university?' and she said, 'Yeah, I really want you to,' so I said, 'OK, I will.' "

Down the road, when it became time, Wells decided to keep the promise.

Decades later, Wells is a retired CEO with a successful career in semiconductors behind him. Looking back, he says he owes a lot to his mother.

Ironically, his older brother became a soccer player.

That memory and many others are part of the inspirational story of a young boy who came to Saratoga with a dream. These days, Wells is sharing those stories with anyone who has an interest in them in his book, The American Dream in A Kilt.

As a young man, Wells began focusing on what he was most interested in.

"I'm very big on numbers; I'm crazy about them. They never lie--eight times eight is always 64," he says. For that reason, Wells was drawn to such subjects as astronomy, math and physics. "I was fascinated by the concept of the universe and the planets. Mostly, I was interested in the applications of math."

Wells earned a bachelor's degree in physics with honors and completed two years of post-graduate work at the University of Glasgow. He could see how many different career options his course of study offered him.

His first job out of college was studying microwaves and their use in radar, which introduced him to his lifelong love--semiconductors.

"It paired two of my big interests together--astronomy and physics. Semiconductors could help get a rocket into space," he explains. "The industry was very tiny then in 1960, but I could tell it was going to be very big."

One day Wells saw an ad in the London Times by a company called Transitron, looking for engineers. Wells made the trip to London, had an interview, and got the job on the first day.

Six weeks later, he found himself in America, working for Transitron in Boston. From there, Wells' career took an impressive climb up the corporate ladder. Nine years later, in 1969, at the age of 34, he came to Fairchild Semiconductor as a product line manager, and rose to the level of vice president within 14 years. Fairchild was later acquired by a French company that specialized in analyzing earth for oil, which was looking to make inroads in the semiconductor industry. Wells was not happy with the new owners' lack of funding for research, so he went to Intersil in 1983, which was acquired by General Electric, and landed his first president/CEO position.

"I had never run an entire company, only whole divisions within a company, so I decided it was something I really wanted to try, especially given my disenchantment with Fairchild."

Intersil was so impressed with Wells that he was promoted to running parent company GE's entire semiconductor business.

Later, from 1984 to 1992, Wells served as president and COO of LSI Logic, and finished his career as CEO of Exar before retiring in 1996.

Looking back on what he proudly calls a "satisfying life as a corporate executive, CEO and father," Wells attributes his success to three fundamental practices--effective communications, quality assurance and "people empowerment."

"When people have a voice and can influence their future, creativity, loyalty and profitability result," he says.

However, when his wife died, Wells found himself a little lost, and he sought grief counseling.

"In the first couple of sessions, she barely even talked. She just asked me to tell her about my life, my business career, my family--who I was. My stories included how I came to America, how I met my wife, my business. By my fourth visit we were working on healing me, after she understood a lot about my life and my relationships," he says. "She told me my stories were fascinating and inspirational."

The counselor suggested Wells write a book about his life and all he had learned. She thought the process of writing a book would give him new life, with something to do, and could also serve as a legacy to his children.

"For about 10 years, numerous people had encouraged me to write a book. Since these people were relatives and friends, I figured they were biased and I scoffed at the idea. But now, to hear it from a complete stranger ... I'd only known this woman for a total of three hours when she suggested that. And she really caught my attention when she brought up the idea of it serving as a legacy to my children and grandchildren. I didn't know anything about my grandparents at all--their names, when they died, how they died. So the idea had a real impact on me."

The counselor suggested enlisting the help of a ghostwriter, and Wells thought of the perfect person--his friend Nancy Padberg, whom he'd met at a golf tournament. Padberg, the CEO of Navigate Consulting and a former writer for the Los Angeles Times, had always dreamed of publishing a book, so now the two friends could help each other.

On Sept. 15, The American Dream in A Kilt was published by WingSpan Press. Wells says no matter what becomes of the book, he is happy it exists.

"I have no expectations for the book. It's mainly stories for my family, things that have happened to me, some happy, some sad. If it sells well I'll be delighted, but I hope some people learn something from the book; maybe it will make them laugh," he says. "Mainly, I wanted it to serve as a legacy to my family."

Somewhere up above, his mother is surely smiling down upon him.

'The American Dream in A Kilt' is available from www.dreaminakilt.com, through Barnes and Noble at www.bn.com and also through Amazon at www.amazon.com.