Flexible microchip innovator Pragmatic Semiconductor announced the immediate appointment of Dr. Paul James as Executive Vice President of Manufacturing and Operations. The industry veteran joins the business during an intense scaling phase across its global production facilities. Pragmatic Semiconductor also announced that it has appointed Dr. James to head its flagship production facility, Pragmatic Park, in North East England.
Dr. James’s expertise includes over 25 years of focused experience in the areas of semiconductor fabrication management, technology transfer, and industrial transformation. He also has a PhD in physics and has been in charge of technical, engineering, and commercial teams throughout his career. Most recently, he spent ten years managing operations as Managing Director at Vishay Newport Limited, formerly known as Nexperia.
During his tenure at Vishay Newport, he successfully restructured commercial capabilities while steering the facility from an IDM model into an independent foundry. Previously, Dr. James served in senior leadership roles across recognized technology companies, including MAX I.E.G., Plessey Semiconductors, and Zarlink Semiconductor.
Leadership Transition and Scaling Manufacturing Operations
Dr. James officially replaces Shane Geary, who managed high-volume manufacturing expansion during his three-year tenure at Pragmatic Semiconductor. Concurrently, the business accelerates efforts to expand production capacity to satisfy rising customer demand for flexible integrated circuits.
David Moore, CEO, Pragmatic Semiconductor, said: “I am delighted to welcome Paul to Pragmatic. His depth of high-volume semiconductor manufacturing and operational leadership, together with his experience of successfully leading complex industrial transformation, makes him an outstanding addition to our leadership team. Paul joins at an important point in our continued growth to lead our manufacturing operations at Pragmatic Park, our flagship production site in the North East of England, as we expand capacity, strengthen operational excellence and scale our unique and sustainable manufacturing to meet increasing global customer demand.”
Paul James, EVP Manufacturing & Operations, Pragmatic Semiconductor, said: “I am thrilled to be joining the Pragmatic team at such an exciting time in its 16-year journey. The innovative flexible semiconductor 300mm technology is truly revolutionary with many advantages over standard Silicon processing including cost, cycle time and environmental impact. I look forward to working with the talented team to accelerate the next phase of growth and technology development in the UK’s only 300mm semiconductor fab.”
Advancing Sustainable Microchip Production in the UK
Moreover, Pragmatic Semiconductor continues to pioneer flexible form-factor semiconductors that enable item-level intelligence for global markets. The proprietary 300mm fabrication technique provides faster cycle times, lower cost structures, and reduced environmental impact compared to conventional silicon chip processing.
Therefore, the company uses this unique manufacturing framework to deploy sustainable edge solutions across a variety of physical AI applications. Our executive leadership continues to be focused on operational excellence and resilient supply chain solutions for our international enterprise customers. Thus, Dr James’ appointment is a coup for Pragmatic Semiconductor and its mission to grow UK semiconductor production capacity.
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Source: GlobeNewswire
