Forefront RF makes leadership changes for next stage of global growth
Baines, who is chair of Cambridge Tech Week, has steered a number of tech companies to the cusp of global stardom while as managing director of Cambridge Silicon Radio, O'Donovan made the company so attractive globally that it was swallowed by US giant Qualcomm for $2.4 billion a decade ago – against his wishes.
Cambridge angel O'Donovan has taken on a new role as strategic adviser, having been founding investor and chairman.
He has been instrumental in shaping Forefront’s direction and ambition since its inception, guiding the company through its earliest stages with insight drawn from decades of leadership in the semiconductor industry, including as co-founder and first Managing Director of Bluetooth chip pioneer CSR plc. He has given up the chair to focus on the new role.
Baines, who takes the Chair role at Forefront RF has an exceptional track record in executive leadership across the semiconductor and telecoms sectors, with deep expertise in scaling fabless technology businesses. His experience as CEO of UltraSoC and leadership roles at companies including Codasip, Mindspeed, and Picochip make him an ideal partner as we move to market.
As the only player bringing digitally tunable RF front-end filter modules to the market, Forefront RF is targeting a transformative opportunity in high-volume consumer products – replacing legacy crystal filters with software-defined, reconfigurable solutions for the 5G and 6G era.
In a statement, the company said: “Following the proven fabless semiconductor business model, Forefront RF is well-positioned to scale rapidly and deliver meaningful impact across the wireless communications ecosystem.
“We thank Phil for his exceptional leadership to date, and we’re excited to have both Phil and Rupert working with us as we build the future of RF front-ends.
“To fully dedicate himself to this new strategic role, Phil has stepped down from his position as Chair of the Board. We are grateful for his continued support and proud to have him remain closely involved in our journey.”
Founded in 2020, Forefront RF is poised to transform the way multi-band smartphones, wearables and other connected devices are designed. Based on award winning academic research, the company is developing a ground-breaking technology that reduces PCB space through fewer components and increases the number of supported frequency bands.
With the mobile phone and adjacent markets embracing miniaturisation, Forefront RFs next generation solution empowers OEMs and ODMs to incorporate a range of advanced features into their designs while reducing the overall cost, size and weight of the end-product. The company is headquartered in Cambridge UK with a subsidiary office in the Netherlands.
