Rick Neely - Monolithic Power Systems (Los Gatos, CA)
Rick is the Chief Financial Officer for Monolithic Power Systems (MPS), whose symbol is MPWR on the NASDAQ exchange. MPS is a manufacturer of high performance analog semiconductor chips, the core business of "Silicon Valley" where the company is headquartered. The company focuses on power management chips, and is one of the fastest growing and most profitable companies in the high performance analog market segment with a market capitalization of over $700 million. Rick is responsible for all the companies' financial activities and external Wall Street relationships, which keeps him on the road on a regular basis. He has an undergraduate degree in economics, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Rick has been a triathlete since 2000, but has been a competitive runner since age 15, growing up in Oregon during the era of Steve Prefontaine and other University of Oregon distance greats. He started competing in triathlons as an outlet for his competitive spirit when he found himself spending more time "cross training" on the bike than running. Rick competes primarily in shorter distance events, have completed 20+ Olympic distance races, as well as Sprint distance events and a few Half Ironman's. His best Olympic time was 2:27 set in 2004, and his best Half Ironman was 5:27 also done in 2004. Recently, he competed in the USAT CEO Challenge in 2007, and earned a slot on Team USA for the Short Course World Championships that were held in Hamburg, Germany. Rick finished 79th in his age group at that event.
Rick is married to Evelyn, his long time triathlon supporter who helps him stay focused and limber in her "other job" as a yoga instructor. Rick signed up for the CEO Challenge as a way to compete with other executives facing the same time constraints and pressures that he does in his role as a public company CFO.
Competition Age Group: 50 - 59
