The accomplishments of the individuals who are entering the Hall of Fame this year are simply amazing. Their inventions and leadership laid the groundwork for today's digital products and technologies, enhancing the way consumers around the world work, live and play
Gary Shapiro, President and CEO, CEA

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced the new class of inductees into the Consumer Electronics (CE) Hall of Fame during CEA's Entertainment Technology Policy Summit held in Washington, D.C. CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro revealed the names of the 12 industry luminaries who will be inducted at the annual CE Hall of Fame awards dinner at CEA's Industry Forum to be held in San Francisco, CA, October 16-18, 2006.

The 2006 class will join the 97 inventors, industry executives, engineers, retailers and journalists already inducted since the CE Hall of Fame was created in 2000. The new members include Robert W. Galvin, who steered Motorola from 1959 to 1990, and Andrew Grove and Gordon Moore, two of the three co-founders of Intel. In addition to the Intel team (the third co-founder, Robert Noyce, was inducted in 2000), the judges chose the Emmy-award winning inventors of plasma displays for television - Dr. Donald Bitzer, Dr. Robert H. Willson and the late Dr. H. Gene Slottow.

Joining the group are industry executives Jack Doyle of Pioneer America, Howard Ladd of Sanyo, John Roach of Radio Shack and retailer A.J. Richard. The 2006 class of inductees also includes Nick Holonyak Jr., the inventor of light-emitting diodes (LED) and Dr. George Heilmeier who invented commercial liquid crystal displays (LCD).

"The accomplishments of the individuals who are entering the Hall of Fame this year are simply amazing," said Shapiro. "Their inventions and leadership laid the groundwork for today's digital products and technologies, enhancing the way consumers around the world work, live and play."

The 2006 Hall of Fame inductees are best known for the following accomplishments:

Jack Doyle was both the founding president of Pioneer America and also the mastermind behind the company's entry into the car audio business. He later became the first president of what is now Pioneer Electronics USA, which combined the car audio and home electronics divisions of the company.

Robert Galvin took the reins of Motorola in 1959 from his father, Paul, and grew sales of $290 million to $10.8 billion annually by the time he retired as chairman in 1990, creating one of the world's most respected companies.

Dr. George Heilmeier led the team at RCA's David Sarnoff Research Center Labs in the mid-1960s that created the first commercial liquid crystal displays (LCD).

Nick Holonyak Jr. invented the first light-emitting diode (LED) in 1962 while at General Electric and was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 2002 by President Bush.

Howard Ladd, as founder and president of Concord Electronics during the 1960s, developed and marketed the first consumer reel-to-reel and stereo cassette audio tape recorders. He may be best known for introducing the Sanyo brand in the U.S. in the 1970s, and was chairman and president of Fisher from 1976-1987.

Alfred J. (A.J.) Richard inherited a 10-store hardware chain from his father and, during his 77-year tenure, transformed it into a 49-store electronics and appliance giant that produces $1 billion in annual sales.

John Roach led Tandy Corp. to prominence in the emerging microcomputer business and, when appointed CEO in 1981, built Radio Shack into the nation's preeminent and most ubiquitous electronics retailer.

Team Inductions:

Dr. Donald Blitzer, Dr. Robert H. Willson and Dr. H. Gene Slottow, colleagues at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Engineering Department invented the plasma display in 1960, the precursor to today's high-definition plasma televisions.

Andrew Grove and Gordon Moore, along with Robert Noyce, founded Intel, the world's most dominant computer chip maker, in 1968. Both Grove and Moore served as president, CEO and chairman.

"We are proud to recognize and honor these industry leaders. Their industry contributions have led to innovative products and services that have improved and simplified consumers' lives," Shapiro added.

A call for nominations for the 2007 class will be sent out to in May.