Business Insight Digest Team
Business Insight Digest Team provides cutting-edge analysis and insights in technology and innovation.
Chip veteran Robert Feurle assumes leadership of SiC specialist as $750 million CHIPS Act funding remains uncertain.
USA SiC specialist Wolfspeed has appointed Robert Feurle as CEO, effective May 1, 2025, succeeding interim executive chairman Thomas Werner, who will transition to board chairman.
With over 20 years of experience in advanced power semiconductor solutions, Feurle joins Wolfspeed during a challenging period. The company's shares plummeted to their lowest since 1998 on March 28, 2025, amid uncertainty over federal funding through the US CHIPS Act.
Wolfspeed awaits approximately $750 million in federal funding under the 2022 bipartisan law. However, President Trump has recently suggested eliminating the law to address national debt. Without this grant, the company faces potential restructuring challenges, according to CFRA Research analyst Brooks Idlet.
Feurle previously served as executive VP at Ams Osram AG's Opto Semiconductors Business Unit, managing global operations. His experience includes leadership roles at Infineon, where he advanced IGBT and SiC technologies, and involvement in Infineon's proposed acquisition of Wolfspeed in 2016.
A dual US-German citizen, Feurle will relocate to Durham, North Carolina, bringing valuable semiconductor industry expertise to Wolfspeed's headquarters. He expressed confidence in SiC technology's potential and Wolfspeed's market position.
The company reports $865 million in accrued tax credits to strengthen its capital structure.
