Bob Galvin started his career at Motorola in 1940, where he held the senior officer position in the company from 1959 until January 1990, when he became chairman of the Executive Committee. He also continues to serve as a full-time officer of the company.

He attended the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of Illinois Institute of Technology, also having recently held the position of chairman of the board.

Galvin has been awarded honorary degrees and other recognitions, including election to the National Business Hall of Fame and the presentation of the National Medal of Technology in 1991. Of his Irish roots, he says, “My early ancestors arrived in that mass migration circa 1850. They proved to be hearty pioneers in their collective move to the midwest and settled into the conventional pattern of the time, pursuing farming, railroading, public safety jobs, etc. Their finest asset was their value system.”