News: Suppliers
22 November 2021
IQE appoints Americo Lemos as CEO
Epiwafer and substrate maker IQE plc of Cardiff, UK has appointed Americo Lemos as chief executive officer, starting on 10 January 2022.
The board says that its decision to appoint Lemos follows an extensive and rigorous search process led by interim executive chairman Phil Smith. With over two decades of managerial experience working with multi-national tech companies, it is reckoned that Lemos has the skills necessary to lead IQE into the next phase of its evolution.
Lemos joins IQE from the executive team at New York-headquartered semiconductor designer and manufacturer GlobalFoundries Inc (GF). As GF’s senior VP of business development for Asia Pacific and China country president, he has been responsible for driving the business’s efficiency and growth in these critical markets. Prior to this, he held executive positions at companies including Qualcomm and Intel, having also worked at Flextronics, Texas Instruments and Skyworks, among others.
“The depth and breadth of Americo’s industry expertise make him the natural choice to take the business forward in its next stage of growth,” comments Smith. “His appointment will enable us to build on our solid global industry foundations and market-leading positions, and take advantage of key structural drivers and opportunities arising with the proliferation of 5G and the Internet of Things,” he adds.
“Americo is the ideal leader to take over from IQE’s founder Dr Drew Nelson, who I would like to thank for his years of passion and dedication to building the company to its current global leadership position.”
As previously announced, Nelson, IQE’s founder & CEO until September, will retain an advisory and ambassadorial role for the business as a non-executive director on the board, with the title of president.
