After the executive committee questioned the decision, the French semiconductor company said on Friday that Reuters-Soitec's plan to appoint a new CEO has the full support of its main shareholders.
Following Pierre Barnab's appointment as CEO on Wednesday, the executive committee sent a letter to the board of directors, seen by Reuters, describing the move as incomprehensible given the progress made by current CEO Paul Boudre.
Pierre Barnab, the chosen successor of Paul Boudre, has the necessary skills and experience to lead Soitec as Chief Executive Officer for the next phase of growth towards our ambitious objectives, the group responded in a press release.
Barnab, who is senior EVP, Group Security Officer and Global Head of Big Data and Cybersecurity at Atos, will join the company on May 1 and take over as CEO at the end of July 2022 shareholders' meeting.
Shares in Soitec fell by around 17% on Thursday, their worst day since December 2014.
According to Refinitiv data, Soitec's four main shareholders, each with stakes of about 10%, are National Silicon Industry Group, Bpifrance, BlackRock Financial Management and CEA Investment.