| Henry T. Nicholas, III | |
|---|---|
Henry Nicholas at the Nicholas Academic Center Graduation on June 11, 2009 |
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| Born | 1959 (age 52–53) Cincinnati, Ohio, USA |
| Residence | Newport Coast, California, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | UCLA |
| Occupation | -Entrepreneur -Philanthropist -Victims' Rights Advocate -Chairman of the Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation -Chairman of Nicholas Education Foundation -Chairman of Marsy's Law for All -Former Co-Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom |
| Net worth | US $ 1.5 billion (est.) (February 2010)[1] |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents | Henry T. Nicholas Jr., Marcella Nicholas Leach |
| Website | |
| http://www.htnfoundation.org http://www.marsyslawforall.org |
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Henry Thompson “Nick” Nicholas, III (born 1959), is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist and leader of the victims’ rights movement.[2] He is the co-founder, and former Co-Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom Corporation, a Fortune 500 company.
Nicholas is ranked number 236 on the 2009 list of Forbes' richest Americans, with a net worth of $1.5 billion.[3]
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Nicholas was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to Marcella and Henry T. Nicholas Jr., and lived in Glendale, Ohio until he was 4 years old. His father was an attorney with the IRS and his mother was a teacher and later an administrator and theater instructor in the Princeton School District. When his parents divorced, he moved with his mother and sister to Los Angeles, California.
His mother remarried, to Robert Leach, a journalist and Hollywood screenwriter, who authored feature film scripts and episodes of such classic television shows as Perry Mason and Sea Hunt. Nicholas attended elementary schools in Malibu and Santa Monica High School.[4] Throughout his schooling, Nicholas suffered from dyslexia.[5]
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the UCLA, after attending the United States Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Nicholas earned a Masters Degree and PhD. in Electrical Engineering from UCLA. His doctoral dissertation on “Architectures, Optimization Techniques, and VLSI Implementations for Direct Digital Frequency Synthesizers” became the basis for the development of the chip that launched Broadcom.[4]
After graduating from UCLA in 1987, Nicholas worked at TRW in Redondo Beach, where he met Dr. Henry Samueli, his future business partner who also was a professor of engineering at UCLA. Nicholas later moved to PairGain Technologies in Cerritos, California, where he was director of Microelectronics. He left PairGain in 1991 to start Broadcom Corporation with Samueli.
Nicholas founded Broadcom with Samueli in the spare bedroom of Nicholas’ Redondo Beach condominium in 1991[6]. Each invested $5,000 of his own money to get the business off the ground. They took the company public in 1998.[7]
Nicholas retired from Broadcom in 2003, ostensibly to work on his marriage.[8]
As Broadcom’s CEO, Nicholas worked with many technology leaders, including the late Steve Jobs. At the time of Jobs' death on Oct. 5, 2011, Nicholas was asked to share his recollections of Apple’s iconic co-founder, who was a major Broadcom customer. In an interview with Business Week magazine, Nicholas recalled that when Jobs would call, “it would probably be in the middle of the night.” He said Jobs “was like a bulldog…He wasn’t overbearing or unreasonable. He just had incredibly high expectations.” Nicholas also recalled another side to Jobs: “Once he had satisfied his need for information, he would mellow. We talked about music.” He said Jobs’ drove everyone he worked with to make “technology simpler to use instead of more complex, and he made me feel like I was taking part in something special.” [9]
The Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation focuses on improving the quality of life through investments in education, youth sports, medicine, technology, law enforcement and national defense.[10]
Nicholas’ sister was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend while Nicholas was in graduate school in 1983[11].[12] He helped his parents—Robert and Marcella Leach—found Justice for Homicide Victims, Inc., a non-profit organization that supports families of murder victims.[13] He was the 2005 recipient of the Ronald Reagan Award for Pioneering Achievement in Criminal Justice, and has been honored frequently by law enforcement organizations for his work supporting victims’ rights.[13]
In 2004, California voters were considering Proposition 66, which would have eliminated much of the state's Three Strikes Law and resulted in thousands of felons being released from state prisons. Twelve days before the election, polls showed Prop. 66 held a seemingly insurmountable lead and was headed toward passage with as much as 75% of the vote. Nicholas became involved and organized a bipartisan coalition of elected officials, including the living California Governors—Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gray Davis, Pete Wilson, Jerry Brown, and George Deukmejian—celebrities including rock bands Korn and Orgy, and grassroots organizations across the state. In the final 10 days of the campaign, Nicholas launched an 11th-hour television and drive-time radio advertising blitz, personally recording spots featuring politicians and celebrities, as well as recounting his own family's tragedy. Prop. 66 was defeated with 53.2% of California voters opposing the measure. The defeat marked the largest reversal of fortune on record in California electoral politics, with Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll, describing the outcome as "unprecedented."[14][15] In February, 2005, Nicholas was presented with an award by the Southern California Association of Broadcasters for his effective use of radio advertising during the campaign [16]
California voters amended the constitution in 2008 by easily passing Marsy's Law 54% to 46%, despite a well-financed media campaign against it and opposition from nearly every major newspaper in the state. Since its passage, Marsy's Law has had a major impact on California's justice system, as victims exercise their legal standing and 17 enumerated rights in the judicial process. Prosecutors now undergo training in Marsy's Law and law enforcement personnel promptly apprise victims of their Marsy's Rights, just as they inform the accused of their Miranda Rights. Marsy's Law has resulted in much longer denials of inmate paroles and has played a pivotal role in several high-profile cases. In the case of Chelsea King, who was raped and murdered in San Diego in 2010 by paroled sex offender John Gardner, the new law was applied to protect her family from the release of autopsy photographs to the media. [17]
In the most significant case to date relying on Marsy's Law, the California legislature passed, and Gov. Jerry Brown signed, a bill requiring the state's sitting governor to notify victims and their families before commuting an inmate's sentence. Earlier, San Diego's District Attorney, citing Marsy's Law's notification requirements, sued to nullify former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision on his last day in office to cut the sentence of the son of former state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. Estaban Nunez pleaded guilty in the 2008 fatal stabling of Luis Santos outside a fraternity party in San Diego. [18][19]
In 2009, Nicholas formed Marsy's Law for All, which is dedicated to providing expertise and resources to empower victims’ rights organizations nationwide, with the objective of enacting the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ensure victims’ rights for all Americans[20]
Partnering with retired Orange County Superior Court Judge Jack Mandel, Nicholas in 2008 opened his first Nicholas Academic Center in downtown Santa Ana, California. Nicholas pledged $10 million over 20 years to the project. The centers provide a safe and nurturing school environment to help underprivileged students realize their educational goals. The second center opened in 2009 on the campus of Valley High School in Santa Ana. The first graduating class consisted of 24 high school seniors who received scholarships to leading four-year colleges and universities, including UCLA, Allegheny College, Denison University, UC San Diego, UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton.[21]
In 2004, Nicholas announced a $10-million gift to St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in Orange County and the formation of a partnership with UC Irvine’s engineering school to explore the application of technology to enhance learning. In addition, Nicholas provides St. Margaret scholarships to students from Santa Ana.[22]
Nicholas also supports the Oakland Military Institute, founded by former-Gov. Jerry Brown,[23] donated a new wing to the Mt. Olive School for middle-school aged girls in Kenya and is a donor to the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California.[24]
Nicholas has made major contributions to the engineering and computer science programs at the University of California, Irvine. He established The Nicholas Prize, administered by CalIT2 at UC Irvine, which recognizes innovative collaborative research.[25]
He continues to support the UCI Center for Pervasive Communications and Computing and the Center for Embedded Computing Systems.[26]
He has supported UCLA’s School of Engineering through Nicholas Endowment grants to its summer research program, as well as supporting the UCLA Astronomy Department’s Planetarium.[27]
Nicholas has a close relationship with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and its Bishop, J. Jon Bruno. The Nicholas Foundation partnered with the Diocese to establish Chefs Center of California, a small-business incubator in Pasadena, California, that enables culinary entrepreneurs to start and accelerate the successful growth of their enterprises. [28] The Foundation has provided primary financial support for the Chefs Center in the form of a $1,350,000 contribution. [29] The Center, which opened in May 2009, provides professional commercial kitchen space at an average rate of $20/hour and based on a sliding scale according to financial need. [30] The incubator is home to more than 30 entrepreneurs and has launched numerous successful restaurants, catering operations and specialty food companies. [31]
The Nicholas Foundation also supports Mama’s Hot Tamales Café, another partnership with the Episcopal Diocese affiliated with Chefs Center and located in the MacArthur Park neighborhood of Central Los Angeles.[32]
Nicholas and his Foundation have been a strong supporter of Habitat for Humanity, helping to build Gordon’s House in honor of Rev. Gordon Yeaton, an Episcopal priest and Habitat for Humanity board member who died in 2007.[33] The Foundation has also supported Habitat’s Homes for Heroes, a neighborhood in San Juan Capistrano for disabled veterans and surviving families of veterans who gave their lives in service.[34]
Nicholas established the first-ever American Heritage Bowl Game for Historically Black Colleges, co-sponsored by the Navy and Marine Corps.[35] It was held in August 2007 at the stadium at Cal State Fullerton and broadcast worldwide on ESPN and armed forces networks.
Nicholas served as a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Commission in Southern California.[36]
And as noted above, he also has supported “Habitat for Heroes” program.[37]
The Nicholas Endowment, Dr. Nicholas supports Opera Pacific and the Pacific Symphony,[38] South Coast Repertory, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and Orange County Performing Arts Center.[39]
Nicholas has been instrumental in the success of a number of high-profile groups and artists, including Sublime, the Dirty Heads, Orgy/Julien-K, and Dead By Sunrise, Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington’s solo act.[40]
During his tenure as Broadcom CEO Nicholas was the recipient of an Orange County Titan Award, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Electronics, was named as one of the Top 20 Entrepreneurs by Red Herring magazine and one of the World’s Top 50 Cyber Elite by Time Digital Magazine.[41]
Since leaving Broadcom, Nicholas has received the following awards:
Nicholas married in 1987; he and his former wife Stacey, a former electrical engineer, have three children, Brett, Matthew, and Shelby.[45] Nicholas is now divorced and lives in Newport Coast, California.
Nicholas allegedly has been linked to drugs and alcohol abuse in the last decade. In April 2008, he voluntarily checked himself into a Betty Ford alcohol-rehabilitation program and completed treatment at Cliffside Malibu, as he struggled with divorce and the death of his stepfather.[46]
After leaving Broadcom, Nicholas served as a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine. He is currently retired.
In 2006, the federal government initiated a widespread probe into the then-popular corporate practice of stock options backdating.[47] More than two dozen executives at various companies were criminally charged, but with few resulting convictions.[48] Among the targets were senior executives at Broadcom. During the technology boom of the 1990s, Nicholas and Samueli granted million of Broadcom options to attract top talent and reward employees for their efforts to help create one of the world’s most successful high-technology companies.
In June, 2008, Nicholas was indicted for felony drug, conspiracy, and securities fraud relating to the backdating of options at Broadcom Corporation.[49][50]
In December 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney in Santa Ana, CA., threw out securities fraud charges against Nicholas and one month later the government dropped drug distribution charges against him.
Judge Carney, at the time of his December, 2009 ruling, also demanded that the U.S. Attorney’s office in Santa Ana “show cause…why the drug indictment against Dr. Nicholas should not be dismissed.”[51] The next month the government moved to dismiss the drug charges.[52]
Also in December 2009, Judge Carney dismissed a civil lawsuit that the Securities and Exchange Commission had filed against Broadcom executives, “wiping away misconduct allegations that had plagued the Irvine-based microchip giant for years."[53]
In dismissing federal charges that Nicholas, Broadcom co-founder Henry Samueli, and other corporate officers had conspired to illegally backdate stock options, Judge Carney ruled that no crime had been committed, and that prosecutors had “intimidated and improperly influenced” witnesses, “distorted the truth-finding process and compromised the integrity of the trial.” Judge Carney went on to say that “to submit this case to the jury would make a mockery” of the defendants’ constitutional rights.[51]
On May 28, 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice dropped its appeal of Judge Carney’s dismissal of the stock option backdating charges. According to the Los Angeles Times: