Cree, Inc. announces that Steve Kelley will join the company as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

In this newly created position, Kelley will be responsible for business development, global manufacturing, technology and administrative operations of the company.

"Steve's breadth of experience and track record of success in the semiconductor business will be a strong addition to the Cree leadership team as we drive the adoption of energy-efficient LED lighting," said Chuck Swoboda,

Cree chairman and chief executive officer. Kelley comes to Cree after five years at Texas Instruments, where he served as vice president and general manager of the Standard Linear and Logic Group.  Prior to that, Kelley spent 10 years at Philips Semiconductors in various management positions.

Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb through the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting solutions, and semiconductor solutions for wireless and power applications. Cree's product families include recessed LED down lights, blue and green LED chips, high brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and radio-frequency/wireless devices. Cree solutions are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, variable-speed motors, and wireless communications.

For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com.