NC chipmaker Wolfspeed fires CEO Gregg Lowe as company seeks turnaround
Durham-based semiconductor chipmaker Wolfspeed will replace its CEO and president Gregg Lowe, the company’s board of directors announced Monday, concluding a seven-year tenure that saw Wolfspeed transform, expand, and more recently, struggle in a crucial technology sector.
On Nov. 12, the board decided to terminate Lowe’s employment “without cause,” according to a corporate financial filing.
“The Board has always been focused on driving long-term value,” Wolfspeed board chairman Thomas Werner said in a statement. “And at this inflection point in Wolfspeed’s journey, the Board agreed that this is the right time for a leadership transition.”
Lowe will leave the company this month. He has been one of the Triangle’s best paid executives, receiving $11.4 million in total compensation this year and $12.47 million in 2023. Werner will assume the role of executive chairman until a new CEO is found.
Wolfspeed stock rose 6% Monday morning upon news of the leadership change.
Named CEO in 2017, when Wolfspeed operated under its original name Cree, Lowe oversaw the company’s pivot away from producing LED lights toward exclusively making a unique semiconductor material called silicon carbide. More efficient than traditional silicon, this material is sliced into chips that power electric vehicles, defense equipment and energy storage units, among other appliances. Over the past five years, Wolfspeed has sold off its non-silicon carbide divisions and committed to launching major silicon carbide plants in New York State and North Carolina.
The company’s news release said the board “agreed” with Lowe that he should depart, and included a statement from Lowe.
“Over the past seven years, we have transformed Wolfspeed into the only pure-play and vertically integrated silicon carbide operator in the country to capitalize on the structural and long-term demand for next generation semiconductor technology,” Lowe said in a statement Monday. “While there is work still to be done, I have every confidence that Wolfspeed will execute on its strategic priorities and extend its silicon carbide leadership in the years to come.”
Analysts say Wolfspeed made missteps in its transition to silicon carbide, including multiple missed production deadlines that soured investors. The company’s stock price has plummeted in the past two years, dropping from more than $100 a share to less than $10. And the prominent activist investor Jana Partners increased its stake in Wolfspeed as the share value diminished.
On recent earnings call, Lowe noted the company has been hurt by weaker demand for electric vehicles.
Amid liquidity concerns this summer, Wolfspeed announced it would close a device factory on its main campus near Research Triangle Park. Starting in August, the chipmaker began to reduce its 5,000-person global workforce by 20% through attrition, voluntary buyouts, and layoffs. Most of these cuts impacted North Carolina employees, the company said.
Wolfspeed has also notched successes within the past 12 months. In March, the company completed construction on its multi-billion-dollar materials facility near Siler City. Then last month, the company entered a nonbinding agreement to receive a $750 million grant through the federal CHIPS and Science Act.
This story was originally published November 18, 2024 at 12:40 PM with the headline "NC chipmaker Wolfspeed fires CEO Gregg Lowe as company seeks turnaround."
