Active Silicon founder to be less active

One of our founders, Colin Pearce, has confirmed that he will be stepping back from front line activities at the end of September as he heads towards a well-earned retirement. However, unable to part with us completely, Colin will remain available on a consultancy basis and will be joining us in Stuttgart for VISION next week.

Colin founded Active Silicon with Chris Beynon in 1988 as a consultancy in the FPGA sector before developing a range of imaging related products, in particular frame grabbers, cameras and video adapters, and custom-designed embedded vision systems. The pair has successfully driven the company over 36 years to become a global leader in machine vision components, expanding from Colin’s attic in West London to two sites in the UK and one in the US.

Since the acquisition of Active Silicon by Solid State plc in 2021 and incorporation into its Systems division, Steatite, Colin has played more of an advisory role, allowing him to spend more time with family and on his beloved yacht. Chris will continue in the driving seat, supported by Steatite MD, Alastair Wallace, and many familiar faces in the Active Silicon senior leadership team.

Here at Active Silicon we have many anecdotes marking milestones in the company’s growth, from pulling all-nighters to meet demanding deadlines, to social events that nurture the friendly ethos of the company. Colin’s regular presence will be greatly missed by us all.

If you’re attending VISION please take the opportunity to have a chat with Colin before he sets sail!