• Executive Vice President of Human Resources, Michelle Sterling to Retire after 25 Years
Qualcomm Incorporated announced the appointment of Heather Ace as executive vice president of human resources. She will join Qualcomm’s executive committee and report to Qualcomm CEO, Steven Mollenkopf. Michelle Sterling, executive vice president of human resources who has worked at Qualcomm for 25 years, is retiring.
Ace brings nearly 20 years of human resources experience to Qualcomm, having served most recently as the chief human resources officer at Dexcom, a San Diego-based medical device company. At Dexcom, she was a member of the executive leadership team and led all aspects of HR. She also worked closely with the board of directors and compensation committee and played a key role in aligning the executive leadership team on companywide strategic priorities and operational planning and execution.
“We are pleased to welcome Heather to the team,” said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO, Qualcomm. “Heather’s experience aligning a company’s strategic priorities with its people and operations will be valuable as we continue advancing through what we believe is the most significant growth opportunity in Qualcomm’s history.”
Throughout her career, Ace has held a variety of leadership positions overseeing HR, communications, mergers and acquisitions and transformational change initiatives. Prior to Dexcom, Ace served as the EVP of global HR at Orexigen Therapeutics, the Business Integration Leader for Royal Philips’ HealthTech acquisition of Volcano Corporation, the EVP of global HR at Volcano Corporation, and held various HR executive roles at Life Technologies. Heather was also a partner at Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich (now DLA Piper), where she practiced litigation and employment law, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Law & Society from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a JD from Santa Clara School of Law.
Mollenkopf continued, “On behalf of the Executive Committee, I would like to thank Michelle for her decades of contributions and leadership. She has been a valuable business partner and advisor to me and many leaders across the company and was critical in supporting our workplace and advancing our people practices for more than 25 years of technology transformation.”
Sterling joined Qualcomm in 1994 and throughout her tenure has provided HR leadership, strategy, and support to nearly all areas of the company, including manufacturing, corporate functions, and business divisions, as well as new and emerging businesses.
