Leonard (Len) Perham jokes that a movie could be made about his life, and he’s not wrong. There is a humble beginning, significant success, a few failures, drama, intrigue, innovation, stolen technological secrets, money made and lost, life-changing loves and more.
Len was born in 1943 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and graduated from Keene High School in 1961. In high school, he was very popular, involved in both the high school baseball and football teams, elected both class clown and – surprisingly – the class poet. In his junior year, a serious head injury during a baseball game altered his path. “It slowed me down for a bit. After high school, I took a year off,” Len said.
A young lady changed his life. He began dating a student at Keene State College and became motivated to pursue higher education for himself.
As the eldest of nine children in a family where money was tight, Len knew it would be up to him to finance his education. He set his sights on earning an associate degree in the Electrical Engineering Technician program from NHTI-Manchester, now known as Manchester Community College (MCC). “I wasn’t a serious high school student. I was told that it would be unlikely that I would qualify for the program, which was known to be hard. I had to take a physics achievement test. I scored very high on that test and was immediately accepted into NHTI,” recalled Len.
Len earned an associate degree in 1964. He brought his transcript to Northeastern University in Boston, where his courses and grades led to his acceptance into their engineering program as a sophomore. Northeastern is highly respected for its experientially driven educational program, which thoroughly integrates work into the academic experience. Len accepted a co-op internship at a company in Peterborough, N.H. that manufactured printed circuit boards, and his career was launched. Len said that his two-year electronic technician degree from the community college “immediately enabled me to be a net positive contributor as an engineering intern.”
Len saw his first microchip functioning on a board during a subsequent internship. During this time, the Honeywell Computer Divisions acquired the Peterborough company where Len was interning. Subsequently, Len requested and was granted a transfer to the Honeywell location doing research and development into advanced microchip technology. “This transfer set my career direction once and for all,” he recalled. The degree in electronics from then NHTI-Manchester, the Peterborough internships, and his Electrical Engineering degree from Northeastern in 1968 opened the door to a long and illustrious career in the then infant semiconductor industry. Len spent the bulk of his career in Silicon Valley, where he recruited, retained, and motivated world-class teams of scientists and honed his expertise managing the definition, design, and manufacturing of some of the highest-speed, most reliable microchips on the market.
From 1991 to 2000, Len served as the CEO of Integrated Device Technology (Nasdaq IDTI). He was appointed president and elected to the board of directors for IDT in 1986. During his 16 years in this role, he nurtured numerous successful companies under the IDT umbrella, many of which were acquired or became publicly traded. Before joining IDT, Len was the president and CEO of Optical Information Systems Inc., a division of Exxon Enterprises. He was also a member of the founding team at Zilog Inc. and held management positions at Advanced Micro Devices and Western Digital.
After retirement from IDT, Len was elected Chairman of the Board at NetLogic Microsystems. He and his board guided the outstanding NetLogic operating team through its initial public offering (Nasdaq NETL) in 2004 and to its final acquisition by Broadcom in 2012. This company’s products and technology were a resounding success in the markets they served.
Len returned to New Hampshire in 2019, where he lives with his wife of 55 years, Linda, in Spofford. While he remains active in business, his thoughts have turned to meaningful ways to utilize his financial resources to make a difference. Len and Linda have made a generous contribution through the Foundation for NH Community Colleges in support of students across New Hampshire. “I want to help the institution that helped me.” Paying it forward is an important shared value for Linda and me.
Len is the only one of his siblings to attend college. His education has been vital in a career where he collaborates with individuals who hold advanced degrees from many of the world’s top schools. His siblings took a different path and found success as tradesmen and in small business. MCC’s dedication to training individuals for the workforce was another compelling reason for Len and Linda to invest in his alma mater. “Tradespeople are crucial. What is going on here is so important, and the community needs to support it financially,” he commented during a recent trip to MCC.
Len’s story resonates even more given that MCC is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. Founded as the “State Trade School Manchester” in 1945, today’s MCC has built upon its trade and technical legacy to meet the changing needs of the community and aspirations of students. MCC will be celebrating its anniversary with a community event on November 12.
