By Junko Yoshida, EETimes (November 13, 2018)
SHENZHEN, China — A little over five months ago, Jean-Marc Chery became the new CEO of STMicroelectronics. He succeeded Carlo Bozotti, whose latter part of a 13-year tenure at the Franco-Italian company was one of the most turbulent periods in the company’s history.
Although new to his position, Chery is one guy who doesn’t need a crib sheet to catch up on the Bozotti ST playbook. A little-known fact is that Chery has long been in lock step with Bozotti as his close confidant since ST initiated a drastic restructuring program in 2012.
It was a brutal time. ST and, by extension, Bozotti took a lot of heat. It followed ST-Ericsson’s spectacular failure in the smartphone apps processor business. In the public eye, ST had not only shed most of its past glory but had also lost its soul.