Nelson joins Malaysian foundry operation

1st Silicon (Malaysia) has appointed international industry veteran William John Nelson, PhD, to the new position of Chief Operating Officer (COO).

1st Silicon (Malaysia) has appointed international industry veteran William John Nelson, PhD, to the new position of Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Dr Nelson, who is based in Kuching, reports to Claudio G Loddo, Chief Executive Officer.

"Dr Nelson's combined operations accomplishments and vast international experience working in locations throughout Asia, Europe and the United States are representative of the global nature of the semiconductor industry", stated Loddo.

"Success in the foundry industry requires a global vision that can be implemented everywhere.

Dr Nelson has demonstrated this talent throughout his career".

Nelson commented on his goals for the company, stating, "My intention at 1st Silicon is to develop a world-class operations team that provides cost-effective product, excellent customer service, and a mindset of long-term partnership with our customers.

I am very happy to be a member of the 1st Silicon team.

Together, we are committed to making 1st Silicon a world-class wafer foundry and Kuching a centre of manufacturing excellence".

Since 1999 until joining 1st Silicon, Nelson was Chief Operating Officer of General Semiconductor, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations including worldwide manufacturing, sales, marketing and new-product development.

For seven years between 1990 and 1999, Dr Nelson was based in Taipei, Taiwan, and served in several executive positions, including president of General Semiconductor's Asia-Pacific operation.

Prior to leading General Semiconductor Taiwan's divestiture from General Instruments, Nelson was president of General Instruments, Taiwan, and he also served as vice-president and general manager of General Instrument's power semiconductor division.

During that time he also directed the construction of the company's manufacturing site in Tianjin, China, driving completion in less than two years.

From 1994 until 1996, Nelson was based in New York as senior vice-president of worldwide operations of General Instruments' semiconductor division.

Dr Nelson's other experience includes positions as wafer fabrication operations manager at Unitrode and Fairchild Semiconductor, as well as various wafer fabrication engineering posts at Analog Devices.

Dr Nelson earned both a Bachelor of Science degree with honours and a PhD in physics from the University of Ulster, Ireland.

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