SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today announced that Kevin McGarity has been elected to the company’s board of directors. McGarity is a 27-year veteran of Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) where he most recently served as senior vice president of worldwide marketing and sales.

“Kevin’s many years of experience in the semiconductor industry will be of great value to Altera,” said John Daane, president, CEO, and chairman of Altera. “We intend to leverage his expertise as Altera continues to expand its market.”

McGarity joined Texas Instruments in 1972 as a sales engineer and served in various sales roles within the company. In 1982, he was appointed vice president of worldwide marketing and sales, and subsequently promoted to senior vice president, a position he held until his retirement from the company in 1999. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Marquette University.

“This is an extremely exciting time to join Altera,” said McGarity. “There is a remarkable momentum in the marketplace for programmable logic and Altera is clearly leading the charge. I very much welcome this opportunity and look forward to being a member of the board of directors.”

Altera Corp.