SEOUL, South Korea – Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) Division is stepping up its efforts to penetrate the U.S. foundry market by recruiting a key executive from TSMC, the leading player in the foundry industry. This move is seen as a strategic step to expand new contracts and strengthen ties with local customers in the U.S., where global fabless (semiconductor design) companies are concentrated.

Margaret Han Appointed Head of Samsung Electronics' U.S. Foundry Operations

According to industry sources on June 3, Margaret Han, former Vice President of Global Purchasing and Procurement at NXP Semiconductors, officially joined Samsung Electronics America (DSA) in March as Vice President of U.S. Foundry Operations. Han graduated from National Taiwan University and worked at TSMC for 21 years, from 2000 to 2021, handling critical tasks in sales, marketing, and business development. She is highly regarded as a veteran who built unparalleled expertise in the foundry sector, particularly by leading TSMC's North American business and managing key customer accounts.

After leaving TSMC, she gained further experience at leading global semiconductor companies such as Intel and NXP Semiconductors. At Intel, she served as Senior Director, overseeing global external manufacturing sourcing and supply chain management for the foundry division. At NXP Semiconductors, she was Vice President of Global Procurement, demonstrating a deep understanding of the entire semiconductor supply chain. This experience is expected to be a significant asset for Samsung Electronics in building a stable supply chain and meeting diverse customer demands in the rapidly changing global semiconductor market.

Increasing Importance of U.S. Market Penetration in the AI Semiconductor Era

Han's recruitment reflects Samsung Electronics' determination to expand its customer base and enhance its global order-winning capabilities in the U.S. market. With major big tech companies like NVIDIA, Google, and Microsoft leading the AI semiconductor industry, most of which are headquartered in the U.S., local market penetration has become essential, not optional. The AI semiconductor market is experiencing explosive growth and has emerged as a core growth engine for the foundry industry.

Samsung Electronics is already constructing a cutting-edge foundry production base in Taylor, Texas, worth approximately $17 billion (around 23 trillion won). To stably handle the massive volume to be produced there, securing major clients like NVIDIA, Tesla, and Amazon beforehand is paramount. Han's extensive customer network and sales expertise, accumulated while overseeing TSMC's North American business, are expected to play a decisive role in helping Samsung Electronics attract new customers and solidify relationships with existing ones in the U.S. market.

Strengthening Han Jin-man's "North American Sales Expert" Leadership and Chairman Lee Jae-yong's Emphasis on Talent

Samsung Electronics has been focused on strengthening its local sales capabilities for some time, having appointed Han Jin-man, known as a "North American sales expert," as the head of the Foundry Business Division in a late-last-year organizational reshuffle. The foundry business, being a contract manufacturing business that produces chips based on orders from fabless companies, requires both excellent sales capabilities to secure numerous customers, including big tech firms, and unparalleled technological prowess that surpasses competitors. Margaret Han's recruitment is analyzed as a strong foundation for securing additional customers under Han Jin-man's leadership.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has repeatedly emphasized the importance of recruiting global talent in recent executive training sessions, firmly establishing his "talent-first" management philosophy. Chairman Lee stated, "We must recruit talent superior to our executives, regardless of nationality or gender," and "If necessary, we will conduct frequent personnel changes to place excellent talent in appropriate positions." This demonstrates Samsung Electronics' strong commitment to not hesitate in recruiting the best talent, both domestically and internationally, to secure super-gap technology and market dominance in the rapidly changing global competitive environment.

Bridging the Gap with TSMC and Aiming for Foundry Leadership

Samsung Electronics announced its "Semiconductor Vision 2030," aiming to achieve global leadership in the system semiconductor sector by 2030, and is nurturing the foundry business as a core growth engine. However, TSMC currently holds an overwhelming 1st place in the foundry market, while Samsung Electronics is in pursuit. According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, TSMC commanded a dominant 62% share of the global foundry market in Q1 2024, with Samsung Electronics trailing at 13% in 2nd place.

In this situation, Margaret Han's recruitment could be a crucial turning point in narrowing the technology and customer acquisition gap with TSMC. Based on her 21 years of experience at TSMC, Han is expected to contribute to Samsung Electronics' understanding of TSMC's strengths and weaknesses, and subsequently, to the formulation of differentiated sales and marketing strategies. Specifically, she is highly likely to play a key role in attracting TSMC's major customers to Samsung Electronics or at least increasing Samsung Electronics' orders for new projects.

Furthermore, Samsung Electronics is accelerating the development of cutting-edge process technologies. It is striving to secure technological leadership by being the first in the world to mass-produce 3-nanometer (nm) Gate-All-Around (GAA) processes and is also accelerating 2-nanometer process development. If this technological prowess and Margaret Han's sales and customer management capabilities create synergy, Samsung Electronics will gain even stronger competitiveness in the U.S. foundry market, closely pursue TSMC, and move one step closer to achieving its goal of becoming the global foundry leader.

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