1. 07 October 2015
This letter recommends Norman Thomas, currently Senior Director of Technical Communications at
Qualcomm, Incorporated. Until I retired a year ago, I was Vice President of Technical Publications at
Qualcomm, and Norm reported directly to me. I’ve known Norm since I joined the company in 1995.
He’s always impressed me with his many business development achievements, including his Publications-
related work such as business writing and proposal development. When the opportunity arose in 2008, I
negotiated his transfer to our organization. There he took charge of Hardware Publications and made
significant improvements to its structure, teamwork, productivity, service to clients/customers, and
document product quality.
Qualcomm derives a large share of its revenue from the sale of chips and telecommunications reference
designs. We tasked Hardware Publications with documenting the company-internal and -external
information for these chips and designs. It’s critical that the specifications and test information for digital
and RF chips be accurate, complete, and clear. Good internal documents enable timely and effective
collaboration between engineering teams, as well as the correct manufacture of products.
Under Norm’s guidance, Hardware Publications implemented XML-based structured authoring tools and
processes, as well as document automations based on proprietary engineering technology. These changes
improved accuracy, reduced time to market, and increased design information re-use, resulting in
significant cost savings across all phases of product development, manufacturing, and customer
deployment.
To achieve this outcome, Norm negotiated extensively with top executives to get capital budget and their
buy-in for cross-functional changes. He negotiated with vendors regarding purchasing terms, and to get
their commitment regarding future enhancements to their software products. He also oversaw the
development and presentation of training for his own departments and the engineering departments they
served. We leveraged his skills as a program manager, product manager, change manager, and team leader
to accomplish these goals.
When Norm took charge, Hardware Publications consisted of several departments in San Diego, San Jose,
Taiwan, Shanghai, and Bangalore. Norm used his familiarity with other cultures and languages to good
effect. He incorporated staff brought on board through acquisitions and mentored local and global team
members as needed to develop their skills and optimize overall performance. He extended service to
design groups in Europe, especially the UK. He was entirely responsible for strategic planning, budget
administration, and detailed resource management for his organization.
Norm also contributed actively to strategic planning and financial analysis for departments lead by his
fellow directors. Norm consistently earned our highest performance rating, as well as the respect and trust
of executives, peers, subordinates, and clients. He is unfailingly professional and diplomatic, yet firm,
effective, and direct in his interactions. I can recommend him whole-heartedly and wish him continued
success in the future.
Sincerely,
Kristie McCue
Vice President (Retired)
• Technical Publications
• Configuration Management
Cell phone: 619-929-7272
E-mail: kmccue@jsg.org
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