Cadence CEO Resigns to Join Milken Venture

Cadence Design Systems Inc. said Joe Costello resigned as chief executive of the computer chip engineering firm to join Knowledge Universe, an educational technology company partly owned by former junk-bond financier Michael Milken. Costello, 43, who has received much of the credit for building Cadence into a chip-design software powerhouse, will be replaced, effective immediately, by Jack Harding, 42, the former CEO of a company Cadence acquired earlier this year. Costello apparently also had been approached by Apple Computer Inc. in recent weeks to fill the vacant CEO position at the struggling computer maker. Costello said his role at Knowledge Universe will be full-time, and he is no longer a candidate to be Apple’s chief. “There is a growing gap, a growing need for education, which I don’t think is being addressed well. I think there is a gigantic opportunity in this space,” he said. Costello will become vice chairman of closely held Knowledge Universe, based in Burlingame. The company was created about two years ago by Milken, Oracle Corp. Chairman Larry Ellison and other investors to make educational toys, computers and software for schools and consumers. San Jose-based Cadence makes computer programs that help electrical engineers design and test the intricate circuits of computer chips. Cadence shares rose $2.94 to close at $55.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.