National Engineering Day: interview with Pragmatic Semiconductor’s CEO, David Moore
National Engineering Day is a day to celebrate the contributions of engineers past and present, and inspire the next generation. This year, National Engineering Day focuses on role models and the influence they can have in inspiring young people to choose careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). We talk with our CEO, David Moore, to discuss his experiences of role models and mentors and why he considers STEM careers to be the some of the most exciting around.
When you were growing up, who were your role models?
When I was a kid, I was into computers, coding and video games, but technology leaders just weren’t as big a part of the pop culture as they are now. There weren’t the kind of high-profile rockstar tech CEOs that we see today, like Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang and others.
I was – and still am – a space junkie: the astronauts and engineers behind space exploration were always a big inspiration for me. This was the time of the early exciting space missions exploring the solar system, and the first extra-terrestrial telescopes like Hubble; the early years of the Shuttle program … I was always in awe of these highly technical people who were engineers, but also explorers, pushing the boundaries of the possible and expanding our horizons – and taking big risks too, as we saw all too clearly over the years. Having the courage to put yourself up there, all in the interest of discovery and pushing our understanding forward … The incredible innovation in technology and engineering that made that exploration possible is still a tremendous inspiration to me.
Who are your role models now?
There are many, but as a CEO, I do look to other CEOs and what they’re doing and how they’re doing it – people like Satya Nadella. He really drove a step-function shift in the focus and direction of Microsoft after he took the helm. He put strategic priority on cloud computing, and later AI – essentially shifting not only the company mission and business, but also making a big change in company culture along the way. It’s the sort of thing that can look obvious or even easy once it’s done but that belies the vision and passion that’s gone into that achievement. And he seems to do it with a lot of grace and humility, too.
Lisa Su of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is another tremendous leader who took on an incredibly challenging situation and turned it around. [Su’s leadership led to AMD’s stock price increasing nearly 30-fold in less than a decade.] We all face challenging situations, and I take inspiration from people who’ve faced even bigger challenges, driving cultural and business transformations yet coming through all the stronger for it.
Closer to home, there are people like our very own SVP Technology, Catherine Ramsdale, who was recently invited to be a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineers. That’s testimony to her leadership and her passion for developing others and innovating to move technology forward.
Why do you think role models are so important?
Role models provide inspiration, motivation – and shine a light on what it’s possible to achieve. Anything worth doing is rarely easy, so seeing how others create opportunities and tackle adversity is really valuable. It can give you new ideas, or simply keep you going when things are tough.
Having role models who share your outlook and experience is really important, but it’s equally important to have input from people whose outlook and experience is totally different. It challenges you, in a positive way.
Mentoring takes the relationship one step further. In 2024 we’ve introduced a mentoring programme at Pragmatic and it’s something we’re looking to develop going forward – it has real value for both the mentee and the mentor.
What would you advise young people to look for in a mentor?
It doesn’t need to be someone who’s changed the world, but it should be someone you respect. I don’t think there’s a specific recipe, but having someone with diversity of experience is invaluable, or someone who can bring different lenses to the various functional elements of roles and leadership. It should also be someone you trust, and enjoy spending time with.
Although there’s been progress in terms of diversity in STEM – particularly compared to when I was studying – I think there’s still a long way to go. But there’s plenty of evidence1 to show diverse companies perform better, so if you’re not capitalising on different perspectives and diversity of ideas then you’re missing an opportunity. The same goes for identifying good mentors.
And do you have any tips from the other side? How to be a great mentor?
Again, there’s no single blueprint for being a successful mentor, but it has to be a personal passion. You have to enjoy developing others and investing time to guide their success.
Being a good listener is essential: mentorship is not about telling people what to do. It’s about asking questions, understanding what they’re trying to do, coaching and giving examples from your own experience and that of others to help them derive paths forward and new opportunities. Above all, you need to be very open – and vulnerable, when you need to be. You should be more than willing to share where you’ve made mistakes, and where there were opportunities to learn.
Finally, why do you think young people should choose a career in STEM?
Clearly, as an engineer, I can’t help giving a biased answer! But every chapter in the evolution of technology is bigger, and more dynamic, and more exciting than what went before. And its potential to improve the world around us and enhance our quality of life continues to rapidly expand. When you work in STEM, you can be part of that and help move the needle on some of our planet’s biggest challenges. At Pragmatic, we firmly believe we’re doing just that.
STEM subjects open up such a wide range of career opportunities, and new paths within careers, too. I’ve known STEM graduates that have become journalists, have gone into finance or patent law, broadened into new fields of biomedical engineering and environmental science… the possibilities are endless, and endlessly exciting.