CSR (LON:[[ticker:CSR]]), the Cambridge, U.K.-based maker of Bluetooth chips for mobile phones and other devices. CSR spun off from Cambridge Consultants in the late 1990s. Cambridge Consultants is also known for launching Alphamosaic, a provider of multimedia processors for mobile devices, which was sold to Irvine, CA-based Broadcom (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BRCM]]) in a deal valued at more than $120 million in 2004.
The firm’s Boston-area operation, launched in 2005, has not yet had a hit that compares with the commercial successes of the home office. It also is much smaller than the European operation, with 30 or so engineers compared with about 300 employees in the U.K. Yet McNamara says that the Kendall Square office has seen growth in its healthcare business, developing surgical devices, drug-delivery technologies, and wireless diagnostics.
Her background fits well with the focus of the local office. She spent much of her 21 years with Arthur D. Little in health-care consulting. From 2003 to 2008, she served as CEO of CFR, a provider of electronic patient diaries used in clinical trials. She is also on the board of directors at GTC Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GTCB]]), the Framingham, MA-based biotech firm that recently became the first firm to garner FDA approval to sell a therapy derived from milk of bioengineered goats.
McNamara is also a known commodity to the executives at Cambridge Consultants, such as CEO Brian Moon, who she says she has known for about 15 years. In a prepared statement, Moon said: “Under her leadership we look forward to continuing our growth and expanding our business in the North American market.”
