ViaCyte, a San Diego-based regenerative medicine company developing transformative cell therapy for diabetes, as appointed Steve R. Altman to its board of directors.

Altman is a member of Qualcomm's executive committee, providing direction and guidance on key initiatives across all areas of the business, as well as on overall vision and strategy. He began his career with the San Diego law firm of Gray, Cary, Ames & Frye (now DLA Piper), where he specialized in intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, securities and general corporate matters. Altman joined Qualcomm in 1989 as corporate counsel with responsibility for licensing and contracts. He quickly moved up through the management ranks and became vice president and general counsel in 1992. Altman was appointed general manager of Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL) when that organization was formed in 1995, and in 1998 he was named executive vice president of Qualcomm and president of QTL. In 2005, he was appointed and served as president of Qualcomm until 2011, when he was appointed vice chairman.

Altman and his wife Lisa are passionate supporters of diabetes research, actively providing leadership and financial support to organizations such as JDRF and University of California, San Diego (UCSD).  Their interest in diabetes, especially type I diabetes, is personal.  Two of their children suffer from the disease as does Altman's father, brother and niece. As an example of their dedication to finding a cure, the Altmans recently pledged $10 million to the planned Clinical and Translational Research Institute (CTRI) building to be constructed on the UCSD medical campus.