Was it a putsch that caused pschitt? While, Wednesday, January 19, the board of directors of Soitec, a French company which is one of the few to weigh on a global scale in the semiconductor industry, announced the appointment of a successor to its boss , Paul Boudre, the entire management committee published in the hours that followed a scathing letter denouncing this decision, plunging the company into crisis.
He lamented there “the incomprehensible appointment of a new general manager”, under conditions of“opacity” and of “precipitation”, “without serious consideration of internal candidates”, knowing that the mandate of Mr. Boudre, candidate for his own succession, was to be called into play at the next general meeting in July. Aged 64, however, he might only have done a few more months before reaching the recommended age limit of 65.
Beyond that, the signatories of this letter attacked to the man Eric Meurice, the former leader of ASML, at the head of the board of directors for three years, accusing him “the establishment of internal regulations [lui] granting exceptionally wide powers”, its interventionism on subjects such as the remuneration committee or social dialogue in the company, but also “intimidation and vexatious practices towards members of the executive committee”.
“A sector identified as strategic by the State”
In a half-word, they called for an intervention of the public authorities by evoking “the possible destabilization of a company (…), in a sector identified as strategic by the State (…), at the heart of the France 2030 investment strategy (…) and at the center of the sovereignty issues that cross our country and all of Europe”.
Friday January 21, and while the title of the group’s share had just lost nearly 20% of its value since the start of the crisis, falling below 6 billion euros in capitalization, Soitec published a press release seeming to sign the end of hostilities – or at least to save appearances. “Eric Meurice and Paul Boudre are committed to working together to ensure a smooth transition”, says the text. The name of the latter’s successor is already known. This is Pierre Barnabé, 51, member of the general management committee of Atos, head of Big Data and Cybersecurity activities, who must, initially, arrive with the function of project manager for the board of directors. , starting in May.
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