Rick Hess will succeed Stephen Daly as CEO of Hittite Microwave

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Rick D. Hess will become president and chief executive of Hittite Microwave Corp., succeeding Stephen G. Daly April 1, the company’s board of directors said.

Chelmsford-based Hittite designs and manufactures high performance integrated circuits, modules, subsystems, and instrumentation for digital, RF, microwave, and millimeterwave applications.

Rick D. Hess. Company photo.

Previously, Hess, 59, was a vice president at American Superconductor Corp. and before that, president and chief executive of Konarka Technologies Inc. He has been a member of Hittite’s board since 2005.

In a press release, Hittite’s board also announced that Franklin Weigold has been named non-executive chairman.

Outgoing chief executive Daly joined Hittite in 1996. In 2004, he was promoted to president and chief executive and took the company public in 2005.

In a statement, Daly said, “The decision to step down was initiated by me, as I am ready to set new goals for myself outside of Hittite.”