AGL 155: The Innovator’s Spirit with Chuck Swoboda

About Chuck

The Innovator's SpiritChuck Swoboda is Innovator-in-residence at Marquette University, President of Cape Point Advisors, and the retired Chairman and CEO of Cree, Inc. He serves on several company boards and is author of The Innovator’s Spirit and host of the Innovators on Tap podcast.

At Cree, Chuck he helped lead the company from $6 million in revenue to over $1.6 billion as they started the LED Lighting Revolution that led to the obsolescence of traditional light bulbs. Chuck is a co-inventor on 25 patents covering LED and Lighting related technology.

In 2010, Chuck was named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year for the Carolinas.  During his time as CEO, Cree was recognized as MIT Technology Review’s 50 Smartest Companies for 2014 and as one of Fast Company’s World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2015.

Chuck holds an electrical engineering degree from Marquette University (1989), where he served on the Board of Trustees for 12 years.  He and his wife live in Cary, North Carolina. When he’s not writing or working, you will likely find him fishing on Bald Head Island.


Today We Talked About:

  • Innovation
  • The future doesn’t just happen
  • saving benefits vs saving money
  • accountability
  • empathy
  • learning changes

Connect with Chuck


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