Which CEO of Texas Instruments oversaw the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958?

Patrick Haggerty was the Texas Instruments leader who oversaw the company when its engineer Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit in 1958. Haggerty became TI’s president that year and provided the executive leadership behind its expanding semiconductor program.

The breakthrough itself came from Kilby, who joined TI in 1958 and recorded his initial integrated-circuit idea that July. On September 12, 1958, he demonstrated a working circuit whose components were built together on a single piece of semiconductor material.

Haggerty’s role was managerial and strategic rather than that of the inventor. He had helped build TI’s electronics operation, recruited important semiconductor talent, and supported research that made innovations such as the integrated circuit possible. Contemporary histories generally describe his office as president or chairman rather than using the modern title CEO.

Robert Noyce is another common answer because he independently developed a practical version of the integrated circuit at Fairchild Semiconductor. Jack Kilby is the inventor associated with TI; Haggerty is the executive who led the company at the time.