IQE PLC (AIM:IQE) has announced that chief executive Americo Lemos has left the company with immediate effect.
Shares in the semiconductor wafer specialist have slumped in recent weeks following a warning about some markets and performance would be at the lower end of expectations this year.
Following Lemos’s departure, Mark Cubitt, who joined the IQE board earlier this month as chair-elect, will become the executive chair.
CFO Jutta Meier will become IQE's interim CEO in addition to her finance role while a permanent chief executive is sought. Meier joined IQE in January 2024 from Intel Corporation.
Phil Smith, who has been chair of IQE since 2019, is also stepping down but will remain as a non-executive director.
Smith said: "In Mark and Jutta we have two excellent individuals with the necessary sector and leadership skills to capture that growth in partnership with our customers, employees and broader stakeholders.
"Their immediate priorities will include a focus on executing on the near-term pipeline as well as cash generation across the group and on unlocking embedded value by pursuing the IPO of our Taiwan business.
“They will examine other efforts to optimise our asset base and ensure that resources are centred around IQE's strategic areas of expertise."