HK Desai, 68, Executive Chairman, QLogic, Died

 HK Desai, executive chairman, QLogic Corporation, died on June 7 night after suffering sudden cardiac arrest, at the age of 68.

He had been with the company since August 1995.

“This is a terrible loss for me personally and for all of us here at QLogic,” said Prasad Rampalli, president and CEO. “HK dedicated most of his working life to building QLogic into the company it is today. His positive spirit, enthusiasm and commitment will be greatly missed by all of us who had the honor of working with HK. HK was well respected by those who knew him at QLogic, at customers and in the investment community. While HK was extraordinarily passionate about his work, his greatest pride was his family and our thoughts are with them at this time. We will miss HK dearly.”

HK graduated from the M.S. University with a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and received his M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He was named American Electronics Association Executive of the Year in 1999 and was named a Director of the Year in 2002 by the Forum for Corporate Directors.

H.K. joined QLogic in 1995 as interim CEO, president and CTO, and became president and CEO in 1996 and became our COB in 1999. He continued to serve as CEO until 2010 when he assumed his executive chairman role.