Applied Materials Wednesday named former Intel
executive vice president Michael R. Splinter as its new president and CEO.
Splinter succeeds James Morgan, who is expected to continue as chairman of the Board of Directors, and as president, he succeeds Dan Maydan, who will be president emeritus and also remain on the Board.
“Mike’s unique combination of customer experience, extensive knowledge of advanced semiconductor manufacturing and collaborative leadership of large, complex organizations make him an outstanding choice for us,” Morgan said in a statement.
During his 27-year career leading the Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of semiconductor production equipment, Morgan received numerous accolades and served as an advisor to three U.S. presidents on issues of technology and the global economy. Morgan received the National Medal of Technology in 1996.
Maydan received the first ever lifetime achievement award by the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International organization. He is also recognized as a co-developer of the Applied Materials Precision 5000 system at its induction as the first semiconductor manufacturing system in the Smithsonian Institution’s collection of breakthrough technologies that have helped shape society and the modern world. Maydan also was recognized as an industry pioneer during the 50th anniversary celebration of the semiconductor industry, and he has received several awards for his outstanding contributions to building a global industry.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel issued a statement Wednesday saying that Jason Chun Shen, who is now vice president and co-director of the Sales and Marketing Group at Intel, would fill Splinter’s vacancy.
Applied’s machines play a major part in the chip making process, including deposition (layering film on wafers), etching (removing portions of chip material to allow precise construction of circuits), and ion implantation (altering electrical characteristics of certain areas in wafer coatings). Applied also makes metrology and inspection equipment. Intel , AMD
and Motorola
are their main customers.
The company has been going through a restructuring of late. Last month, Applied said it would eliminate about 2,000 positions or 14 percent of the company’s global work force.
The company’s problems have been mounting. In January, Applied warned investors that its orders for the quarter were far lower than expected. A week later said it did not expect customers to “significantly ramp spending” in the short term.
