Twenty-six years. That’s how long I’ve sat in this chair as an editor for this publication. Long enough that a reader or two out there was born right about the time I took the job, in January 2000, first as editor in chief of PC FAB, to which my then-boss Pete Waddell soon added Printed Circuit Design, and then, in 2005, CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY. (Now I really feel old. Thanks a lot.)

Not to beat a dead horse, but we’ve been speaking the past few months about corporate mergers and the intersection between academia and industry, and while these are separate topics, to be sure, I am motivated to continue both conversations.

In the wake of Cadence’s acquisition of EMA Design Automation, I warned of the risks to EMA's customer-centric culture as it assimilates into its new parent. I also pointed out the possibility that the investment in EMA’s novel tools could wane: a $5 billion company might not see value in supporting products that, in their entirety, might be worth less than a single average-sized customer.