PARIS — Soitec said it has appointed Infineon senior vice president Laurent Rémont as its next chief executive officer, a move that sent the French engineered-substrates maker’s shares up about 9% in early trade as investors bet on a reset after a bruising slide, Jan. 8, 2026.
The board is turning to an industry veteran as Soitec tries to rebuild confidence following repeated demand shocks in mobile and automotive semiconductors and a share-price collapse of more than 80% since Pierre Barnabé took the top job in 2022.
What the Soitec leadership change means
Rémont, 54, will take over April 1 after joining Soitec on March 16 as a special adviser to Barnabé, who will step down March 31. The appointment follows the succession process Soitec launched in October when Barnabé said he would leave for personal reasons.
In announcing the decision, Chairman Frédéric Lissalde said the board was “particularly impressed” by Rémont’s “innovative mindset” and ability to deliver “transformative roadmaps,” language aimed at reassuring shareholders after a prolonged slump. Rémont said he was “proud to join Soitec” and called out “rapid change” in the industry as new technologies reshape demand.
Soitec emphasized Rémont’s fit with its end markets — mobile communications, automotive and artificial intelligence — and his experience managing technology and industrial operations.
Soitec’s slump and the backdrop
The CEO change lands after a stretch of painful revisions. In July 2024, Soitec reported a sharp first-quarter revenue drop, pointing to ongoing inventory corrections in smartphones and softer automotive trends even as results came in slightly above expectations. (See Reuters’ report on the 2024 sales slump here.)
In February 2025, Soitec cut guidance amid a weak automotive market and limited visibility into customer ordering patterns. (Here is Reuters’ story on the 2025 guidance cut for context.)
By May 2025, Soitec withdrew both full-year and medium-term guidance altogether and said it would provide only quarterly revenue outlooks, while also changing its chief financial officer. (Reuters covered that pivot in this report.)
Soitec’s bet on a semiconductor “outsider” with inside relevance
Soitec is pitching Rémont as an “outsider” with a résumé built inside the same value chains it serves. The company said he held senior leadership roles at Infineon, previously served as CTO at Kontron, and spent more than 15 years at STMicroelectronics after starting his career at Philips. Infineon has also publicly quoted Rémont in prior product announcements, underscoring his operational visibility within the chip supply chain.
Investors will now watch whether the Soitec turnaround can move from leadership headlines to order momentum. For now, the market reaction suggests shareholders see the Soitec CEO transition as a needed inflection point — but one arriving with “tough quarters ahead,” as at least one analyst warned.
Sources: Reuters on the appointment reporting; Soitec’s board announcement press release; Soitec newsroom archive; Infineon statement quoting Rémont announcement.
