According to the latest reports, ASML has approved the appointment of Christophe Fouquet as the company's new CEO.
On Wednesday, Fouquet, 50, was inaugurated as CEO of Europe's largest technology company at ASML's annual meeting in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. "I'm very happy...... To be able to write a new chapter for ASML and continue to create tremendous value for our shareholders. Fouquet, who was appointed to the role in November, is a 15-year veteran of the company and previously led its top-of-the-line "EUV" product line.
Agence France-Presse reported on Fouquet's appointment, saying that he will face a lot of work after taking over ASML, and the first task will be how to handle the company's business in China in the context of geopolitical tensions.
He succeeds retiring CEO Peter Wennink, who has led the company since 2014, during which time the company's share price has risen more than tenfold and become Europe's largest tech company with a market capitalization of more than €300 billion ($320 billion).
"People have been telling me for the last few months, 'You're going to retire in the heyday of the company,'" Wennink said. "Nope. We're not even in the middle yet. ”
It is worth mentioning that Wennink's retirement coincided with the retirement of Martin van den Brink, ASML's chief technology officer. ASML says their visionary leadership has guided the company's growth and innovation.
The key China business, Wennink spoke before parting
Frenchman Christophe Fouquet, who took over the Dutch chip giant ASML on Wednesday, has laid out a list of daunting tasks, the first of which will be to steering business with China at a time when semiconductors have become a geopolitical battleground.
ASML's strategic importance in manufacturing ultra-thin microchip machines powers many of the world's advanced technologies, making it play a role far beyond the commercial realm. Since the Western powers, led by the United States, have banned China from acquiring such technology, Fouquet will have to navigate choppy political waters.
Analysts don't expect a radical shift at ASML under Fouquet – after 16 years with the company, he's a serial candidate to succeed current CEO Peter Wennink.
“不要指望我会扭转局面。 我认为我们多年来一直在努力的事情仍然是我们希望通过 ASML 实现的目标，”Fouquet 在被任命时说道。 （原文："There should be no expectations that I will be turning the tables. I think that what we have been working on for many, many years is still what we want to achieve with ASML," ）
In the company video, Winnick affectionately pats his arm and says of his 50-year-old successor: "He has been with the company for a long time and he knows all of our customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders. ”
"He was a man who was widely recognized. ”
Born in 1973, Fouquet studied physics in the southeastern French city of Grenoble, which gave him the strong theoretical skills needed to run a well-known tech company like ASML.
After a stint at semiconductor companies KLA Tencor and Applied Materials, he joined ASML in 2008 in a variety of roles in marketing and product management. Fouquet has spent years running the company's EUV (extreme ultraviolet) cutting-edge machines program, which produce ultra-thin chips that are critical to the development of artificial intelligence.
Since 2022, he has been a key right-hand man to Wennink, serving as Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.
"Insider Christophe Fouquet is the continuity of the flesh," says the specialized publication Bits&Chips. "The Frenchman knows both the company and the industry inside out. ”
Simon Coles, an ASML analyst at Barclays, told AFP: "I don't expect the direction to change. The new CEO has helped shape and plan the current strategy, so we expect it to continue. ”
Fouquet's biggest concern is China. In January, the Dutch government revoked the licenses for some of ASML's advanced machines, sparking outrage in Beijing. ASML's latest quarterly results showed that China accounted for 49% of sales, but overall orders were weaker-than-expected, triggering a plunge in the stock price.
Fouquet has previously said that decoupling the industry's supply chain is "extremely difficult and extremely expensive".
He told the financial news outlet Nikkei Asia last year: "Sooner or later, people will realize that the only way to succeed in semiconductors is through collaboration." "The idea that we can go back to a little dark corner and do it all alone could well be a very challenging concept. ”
即将卸任首席执行官Peter Wennink 周三表示，美国政府将在某些情况下阻止该公司对之前出售给中国客户的部分机器进行维修。 Peter Wennink 表示，此类限制“不会对 2025 年至 2030 年的财务状况产生重大影响，因为受影响的中国工厂数量有限”。 （原文：The outgoing chief executive of top semiconductor equipment supplier ASML said on Wednesday that the U.S. government will prevent the company from servicing some machines it has previously sold to Chinese customers in some cases.）
ASML, the largest manufacturer of equipment for manufacturing computer chips, faced a series of restrictions and licensing requirements from the U.S. and Dutch governments when selling its line of more advanced devices to Chinese customers.
The restrictions are part of Washington's efforts to slow and weaken China's ability to make its own chips. In April, the U.S. government began pressuring the Dutch government to prevent ASML from servicing some of the equipment in the multibillion-euro worth of tools it has already sold to customers in China, including devices that in some cases have already been approved for export or sold before the new restrictions are introduced in 2023.
By 2023, China will be ASML's second-largest market by sales, with about 20% of the company's global revenue coming from servicing its installed tool base. While the Netherlands oversees its own export policy and ASML says it expects to continue serving "most" Chinese customers by the end of the year, Winnick said this is not always the case. "We can provide them with services, but we can't use U.S.-made parts and components that are export-controlled from the U.S.," Winnick said. ”（"We can service them, but not with U.S. content, with spare parts that come out of the U.S. that are under export control," Wennink said.）
The U.S. regulations cover the portion of ASML's product line known as "immersion" deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography tools.
"But that's only for a limited number of systems. But we can install them. Anything else we sell, we can install, we can provide services," Winnick said.
Staying in the Netherlands?ASML also has a plan B
For the new CEO Fouquet, he will also inevitably be embroiled in a domestic political debate about the future of ASML's headquarters in Feldhofen, which is considered the "Silicon Valley" of the Netherlands.
After far-right leader Geert Wilders won the election for promising to stop immigration, Winnick angered people by warning that ASML might look elsewhere if it couldn't find talented immigrant employees.
The Dutch government then launched Operation Beethoven, a €2.5 billion ($2.6 billion) charm offensive aimed at keeping companies like ASML in the Netherlands.
"ASML is our (Argentine striker Lionel) Messi, and such a star player brings the whole team," Dutch Economy Minister Micky Adriansens said when introducing the program. Despite growing Dutch protests against expatriates encroaching on housing in the crowded Netherlands, the company and the surrounding area of Veldhoven are exploring plans to house around 20,000 employees in the area.
Supported by plans of more than $2 billion in the Netherlands, the company's chief financial officer, Roger Dassen, said at a shareholder meeting that ASML wants to expand in the Veldhoven and Eindhoven regions over the long term. The City of Eindhoven and ASML signed a letter of intent last Monday that will make the expansion possible, creating around 10,000 jobs. "This letter of intent is the result of a long and deliberate process of our choice. It shows that we want to expand here for the long term. ”
After the announcement, the Dutch cabinet will definitely breathe a sigh of relief. When reports went viral that one of the world's most coveted companies was seeking to relocate, the national government was in an embarrassment. ASML has never threatened to leave the Netherlands, but it did say it is considering expanding overseas. "We'd rather do it here. But if we can't do it here, we'll do it somewhere else," outgoing CEO Peter Wennink said in January.
ASML is unhappy with the cuts in the expatriate tax deduction and the imposition of a share buyback tax. Plans to curb the influx of foreign students, as well as more broadly, have also run into sore spots. These concerns have not yet been addressed, but Dassen hinted in the Dutch newspaper Eindhoven Zeitung that a solution is being developed. Things are "moving in the right direction," he said.
Minister of Economic Affairs Micky Adriaansens is pleased with ASML's intention to expand near its headquarters. "This expansion confirms confidence in the Dutch business environment and underscores the cabinet's support for the chip industry," she wrote on Linkedin.
But the investor association VEB asked if the chip machine maker had enough room to grow in the province of North Brabant or if it had a backup plan.
"Of course, we have backup plans, but we want to expand here because of the conditions offered by Wildhofen and Eindhoven," Dassen replied. "The government also recognises that we need an environment for development. He warned that the expansion plan for the Eindhoven region will not take effect immediately. "We have a backup plan to see where we can increase capacity in the short term," Dassen said.
Outgoing CEO Peter Wennink has been critical of the deteriorating business environment in the Netherlands over the past few months. He said plans to restrict immigration for work or study would make it more difficult to attract highly skilled foreign workers.
There are also concerns about inconsistent government policies, housing market shortages, and the phasing out of tax incentives for expatriates.
The newly appointed Fouquet is the second Frenchman to run the Dutch company after Eric Meurice, and trade publication Bits&Chips says his nationality could be advantageous. While he may be at a disadvantage when dealing with Dutch politicians, "his French roots could be helpful in the international arena where the geopolitical storm continues to rage," the report reads.
"France represents a proud and confident Europe, so when it comes to curbing US interference, such as export measures, the new ASML CEO will always find the French president on his side. ”
Reference Links
https://www.reuters.com/technology/asml-ceo-says-us-restricts-servicing-some-china-equipment-wont-hurt-earnings-2024-04-24/
https://bits-chips.nl/artikel/asml-intends-to-stick-to-its-home-base/
https://managementscope.nl/en/interview/martin-van-den-brink-peter-wennink-asml-farewell-interview
Source | Semiconductor Industry Observations
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