Liu Young-way, head of the semiconductor division at Foxconn will replace Terry Gou as chairman of the group.
The SCMP site reported that since July, Mr. Liu Young-way – born in 1956, once head of the semiconductor division – will replace Terry Gou’s position as the chairman of the electronics assembly group, Foxconn.
With this change, many analysts predict that in addition to electronics outsourcing business, Foxconn will expand its investment in many new directions in the future such as AI, robotics or self-operated vehicles.
“Liu has worked at Foxconn for many years. He is a leading expert in Taiwan’s electronics industry,” Gou said in Foxconn’s annual meeting.
Before working at Foxconn as Gou’s special assistant in 2007, Liu founded a chip design company and a printed circuit board factory and ran a subsidiary of United Microelectronics, Taiwan’s second largest chip manufacturer. He also holds a degree in physics from the National University of Transportation and an electrical engineering degree from the University of Southern California.
In 2016, he became a member of Sharp’s board after the Japanese electronics giant was bought by Foxconn. In 2017, Liu was appointed head of the semiconductor department.
According to SCMP, this is a relatively difficult time for Liu because the US-China tension is increasing. In addition to finding more customers in new areas to offset the slowdown in the smartphone industry, Foxconn must also support large customers like Apple, avoiding being affected by trade stress.
Currently, Liu and a group of 9 members will run the company. Gou is still Foxconn’s largest shareholder with a 10% stake and holds an important position in the board. Liu said he will continue to discuss business with Gou once a week.
