GlobalFoundries – a semiconductor company based in California – announced today that former Motorola executive Sanjay Jha will become its new CEO. This news comes after Jha stepped down as Motorola Mobility CEO when Google acquired the company in May 2012, so it looks like Jha is now ready to step back into the shoes of an executive. He’ll have a lot on his plate once he becomes CEO of GlobalFoundries, as it seems the company has some big plans for the future.
As CEO, Jha will be overseeing some pretty large-scale expansion at GlobalFoundries. Not only does the company plan to erect a new facility in Malta, New York, but there are also plans to upgrade existing facilities in Germany and Singapore. That means a lot is in the pipeline for the semiconductor foundry, but considering Jha was there to oversee Google’s buyout of Motorola, we have a sneaking suspicion he’ll do okay. Jha will be replacing current CEO Ajit Manocha when he takes the reigns, with Manocha becoming an adviser for Advanced Technology Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi organization which holds a majority stake in GlobalFoundries.
Jha is a well prepared candidate for this gig at GlobalFoundries. Before serving as Motorola Mobility CEO, he worked his way up to COO of Qualcomm, where he was also the president of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. Jha has also served on the Semiconductor Industry Association’s board of directors. With that in mind, it’s safe to say that Jha has the know-how to handle being the CEO of GlobalFoundries.
However, Jha might have something of an uphill battle ahead, as growth in the semiconductor industry has slowed a bit due to consumers opting for smartphones and tablets over personal computers. GlobalFoundries also faces stiff competition from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which holds the title of the largest independent semiconductor foundry in the world. Despite TSMC’s position in the semiconductor industry, there’s plenty of room for competition, and you can be that Jha is going to be focused on growing GlobalFoundries’ market share. We’ll have to see just what he’s capable of doing after settling into the role, so stay tuned.