San Diego Metropolitan - 40 Under 40

Fighting fires” is what Jacobs does in the world of telecommunications. As president of global development, he runs Qualcomm’s international business.

“On a daily basis, I’m communicating with offices around the world,” the 35-year-old Jacobs says. “strategizing how to proliferate CDMA into that region.” He spends a lot of time meeting with customers and partners who manufacture wireless devices.

Managing a team of 200 people in 10 offices around the country can get a little crazy, he admits. But he uses the lessons from one of his biggest personal achievements to keep himself in check. A two-time finisher of the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon World Championship, this businessman knows the success that rewards determination.

“A lot of the dedication, the discipline and the devotion that it takes to be successful training and completing and racing an Ironman often pertains to the business world,” Jacobs says. “A lot of the same traits that got me through the Ironman also have helped me be successful in the business world. I’m a very ambitious person, very competitive.”

What really drives him is his love for interacting with people. What gets him out of bed every morning are the people and problems he works with.

Born in Boston and raised in La Jolla, Jacobs is the youngest of four boys. He attended La Jolla High School followed by the University of California, Berkeley. He graduated in 1988 with a bachelor of arts degree in international economics. Today a professorship of business and technology is named in his honor.

Jacobs lives with his wife, Deni, and 10 1/2-month-old son, Jett, in Rancho Santa Fe. The couple met after Jacobs had a run-in with his now mother-in-law while he was training at the La Jolla Jewish Community Center. He had forgotten his membership card and the newly hired woman at the front desk, Judy, refused him admittance on his word, ignoring co-workers who were nudging her behind the counter and identifying him as one of the center’s benefactors. The next day Jacobs showed up with card in hand “and a big smile on my face.

“She fell in love with me first, I think,” he says, telling him, “I have a daughter for you to meet.”

Deni was a professional ballerina living in Los Angeles. The couple had their first date at the La Jolla Playhouse. “And we’ve been together for 11 years now,” Jacobs says.

In addition to family life and his career, Jacobs serves on the board of Wireless Knowledge and the San Diego Software and Internet Council. He is a founding board member of the San Diego Telecom Council. His philanthropic activities include support for Berkeley, the La Jolla Playhouse, the Old Globe Theatre, the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art and La Jolla High, where the athletic complex is named after him and his wife.