LONDON — STMicroelectronics made official what had been widely presumed: that Jean-Marc Chery, currently the company's chief operating officer, will take the reins from CEO Carlo Bozotti when Bozotti retires later this year.
ST (Geneva) reported fourth quarter and year-end results that bested analysts' expectations, driven by strength in the automotive sector and growth across the board. ST's 2017 sales increased by 20 percent overall, with automotive sales growing by 9 percent.
ST said Chery, who last April was elevated to the position of deputy CEO, will assume the role of president and CEO and become the sole member of the company's managing board immediately following its annual shareholder meeting expected in April or May. Chery has been with ST since its formation in 1987.
Jean-Marc Chery
Bozotti's retirement has been anticipated in recent years. He has been CEO of ST since 2005 and is widely credited with turning the company around after years of lackluster financial performance.
In a conference call with analysts to discuss ST's quarterly and fiscal year financial results, Bozotti largely focused on the automotive sector and the Internet of Things, saying areas like imaging will play an important part in automotive over the next 10 years. "We want to be there," he said.
Other key areas that will be a focus of ST in the near future will be microcontrollers for industrial, wireless connectivity, security and intelligence in the microcontroller, enabling AI at the edge, he said.
"We are executing on a growth strategy centered on the most promising application domains: smart driving, internet of things, including industrial, and the non-digital part of smartphones," Bozotti said. "This enables us to cover 40 percent of the total semiconductor market. Importantly, our unique product portfolio offers all of the essential blocks to serve the IoT and smart driving applications."
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