EINDHOVEN, the Netherlands -- A former Motorola Inc. executive has filled a key vacant position at Philips Semiconductors here to head up the Dutch company's chip manufacturing and foundry strategies.
Philips Semiconductors named Mario Rivas as its new executive vice president of operations, replacing Stuart K. McIntosh, who surprised the company last fall by joining ASM Lithography Holding N.V. as president of ASML's lithography division (see Nov. 14 story). Several weeks after McIntosh announced his departure, Philips Semiconductor chairman Arthur van der Poel told SBN that the company was close to naming a replacement, but no announcement was made for nearly five months.
"Mario will take the important role of overseeing our manufacturing, assembly and test and supply chain as we grow over the next few years within the challenging cycles of the semiconductor industry," said van der Poel on Thursday.
Philips faces a number of challenges as its attempts to combine the use of third-party silicon foundries and launch leading-edge processes in 300-mm fabs. Prior to leaving Philips last year, McIntosh said the Dutch chip maker was planning to announce a new 300-mm fab during the first half of 2001, while it took a more aggressive position in the buildup of advanced manufacturing capacity. It remains unclear whether Philips still plans to announce a new 300-mm fab, which had been expected to be located in Europe and most likely in the Netherlands.
Mario is a 19-year veteran of Motorola, where he served in design, management and senior executive positions in the company's systems and semiconductor product sectors. He started his career at Texas Instruments Inc. prior to joining Motorola in 1982.
