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M AR K S H E P H ERD , J R .
1923–2009
Elected in 1970
“For technological contributions and leadership in the
growth of the semiconductor electronics industry.”
BY THOMAS J. ENGIBOUS
M ARK SHEPHERD, JR., whose leadership of Texas
Instruments, Inc., spanned three decades, died on February 4,
2009, at his ranch in Quitman, Texas, at the age of 86.
A pioneer in the fledgling semiconductor industry, Mark’s
engineering and manufacturing know-how helped transition
new technologies from the laboratory to mass production,
sometimes years ahead of the competition. In the process he
helped establish TI as one of the premier electronics companies.
At various times beginning in the 1960s through his retirement
in 1988, he led TI as chairman, president, chief executive officer,
and chief operating officer.
Born in Dallas, Texas, on January 18, 1923, Mark was the
only son of Mark and Louisa Shepherd. Wanting to give their
son a head start, Mark’s parents enrolled him in school at
the age of 4. When most children entered elementary school,
Mark was ready for the fourth grade. He showed an interest
for technical things early in life, building his first crystal radio
when he was about 7.
Mark’s education continued at an accelerated pace. He
graduated from high school at the age of 14. He then attended
Southern Methodist University (SMU) on a scholarship,
graduating with honors at the age of 19 in 1942 with a bachelor
of science degree in electrical engineering.
283
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284 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
After graduation, Mark joined the General Electric Company
in Fort Wayne, Indiana. While in Fort Wayne, he met his future
wife, Mary Alice Murchland, an event Mark described as the
most important in his life. They married in December 1945 and
went on to have three children: Debra Shepherd Robinson,
Mary Kay Shepherd, and Marc B. Shepherd.
In 1943, Mark volunteered for the U.S. Navy. For three years
he served as a lieutenant aboard the USS Tucson in the Pacific,
where he specialized in radar and electronics maintenance.
After completing his military service in the summer of 1946,
Mark studied at the University of Illinois, where he received
his master of science degree in electrical engineering in 1947.
Following graduation, Mark joined the Farnsworth
Television and Radio Corporation in Fort Wayne, where he
worked on engineering and development projects. In the spring
of 1948, during a trip to Texas, he visited Geophysical Service,
Inc. (GSI), the predecessor company of Texas Instruments.
That visit put him on a career path that would shape the rest
of his life. He joined GSI in May 1948.
Early on, Mark exhibited traits that were to exemplify his
career, such as a willingness to work hard and drive himself
and others to achieve extraordinary goals. His work and
success on a magnetic anomaly detector project brought him
to the attention of senior managers at TI.
In 1951, TI made the strategic decision to enter the
semiconductor business and approached Western Electric for a
license to manufacture transistors. After acquiring the license,
a small team of TI engineers, which included Mark, attended
a Bell Telephone Laboratories symposium in April 1952 to
learn about transistor technology. Mark was charged with
pioneering the development of transistor mass production.
Under his direction, his team built a crystal puller in short
order, besting the industry by two or three years. By the latter
part of 1953, Mark’s operation was mass producing grown-
junction transistors, and Mark was promoted to chief engineer
for semiconductor design. It was TI’s first development effort
in semiconductors.
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M AR K S H E P H ERD , J R . 285
Mark’s dedication and ability to produce results brought
increasing responsibilities. In 1954 he became assistant
vice president and general manager of the semiconductor
components division, and a year later he was promoted to vice
president.
At that same time TI was producing germanium transistors,
the company was trying to grow silicon crystals. In April 1954,
TI succeeded in fabricating a grown-junction silicon transistor
and by May announced that the silicon transistor was in
production. Mark’s next assignment was to produce silicon
transistors on a commercial basis. He was a driving force
in converting the technology from laboratory development
into full-scale production in 1954, four years ahead of the
competition. Under Mark’s leadership, TI became the world’s
leading producer of semiconductors.
In 1958, Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit at TI. The
company demonstrated the device to the U.S. Department
of Defense in late 1958 and sought converts to this new
technology. The successful use of integrated circuits in the
initial Minuteman missile program was a key element to their
market acceptance. TI continued to produce and sell chips for
later generations of the Minuteman program and eventually
was able to sell similar devices in the commercial marketplace,
once again bringing a new technology into the mainstream.
The 1960s saw the start of Mark’s global executive
responsibilities. In 1961 he became executive vice president and
chief operating officer of TI, with responsibility for worldwide
operations. He was elected to TI’s Board of Directors in 1963,
was named company president in 1967, became chief executive
officer in 1969, and added the role of chairman of the board in
1976. Mark retired from active employment in 1985, though
he remained chairman until 1988. He continued to serve as a
general director until 1993.
Throughout the 1960s, Mark was a driving force in the
establishment of TI’s Asian operations, including those in
Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore. Over the years, TI’s worldwide
operations grew throughout Europe, Latin America, and the
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286 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
Asia-Pacific region, establishing it as one of the first global
electronics companies.
Throughout the 1970s, Mark oversaw the growing di-
versification of TI and an increasing emphasis on vertical
integration. An early example of this strategy was the
company’s successful entry into the consumer market with
pocket calculators.
During the 1980s, Mark championed a more assertive stance
toward the protection of TI’s intellectual property against
infringement by Asian semiconductor manufacturers. A series
of lawsuits and trade actions before the International Trade
Commission ultimately resulted in settlements that brought
TI a steady stream of revenue and established a precedent not
only for TI but throughout the industry for recognizing the
true value of intellectual property that resulted from research
and development.
In the 1970s, Mark emerged as a corporate statesman,
sought after as an expert on topics such as free trade, U.S.
competitiveness, and the role of multinational corporations.
He was a consistent advocate of the American free enterprise
system, a recurring theme in addresses and papers he delivered
over the years.
Mark was actively involved with numerous professional
organizations, often taking a leadership role. From 1976 to
1979, he served as chairman of the Advisory Council on U.S.-
Japan Economic Relations (later known as the U.S.-Japan
Business Council). He was a trustee of the Conference Board
from 1975 to 1985, serving as chairman of trustees from 1980
to 1982. In 1983, Mark was named one of 30 members of the
President’s Commission on Industrial Competitiveness, an
advisory group named by President Reagan to identify ways
to increase the long-term competitiveness of U.S. industries in
world markets, particularly in high technology.
Mark was also a strong advocate of high-tech higher
education in the Dallas and North Texas region and a promoter
of increased research and development at area universities. In
1984, then-Governor Mark White appointed Mark a member of
the newly established Texas Science and Technology Council,
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M AR K S H E P H ERD , J R . 287
charged with improving the state’s position as a national
leader in scientific and technical research and development.
Mark’s contributions to the industry were acknowledged
throughout his career. In 1962, LIFE magazine selected him, at
the age of 39, as one of the 100 most important young people
in the United States. LIFE recognized his role in leading the
development of transistor mass production and in helping
make TI the world’s leading producer of semiconductors.
Mark was elected a member of the National Academy of
Engineering in 1970 “for technological contributions and
leadership in the growth of the semiconductor electronics
industry.” Alumni organizations at both SMU and the
University of Illinois recognized Mark for his distinction. He
was awarded an honorary doctorate of engineering from SMU
in 1966 and another from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in
1979. He also received the Horatio Alger Award in 1984.
Mark perhaps summarized his legacy best when he recalled:
“Not many people in their lives have the opportunity—and the
privilege—of helping to build not only a company, but also an
industry that has had as profound an impact on society as the
semiconductor industry. I am grateful for that privilege.”
He is survived by his widow, Mary Alice Shepherd, and
three children.
