Lam Research CEO quits following misconduct charges
Tim Archer will take over as semiconductor company’s CEO
Semiconductor equipment maker Lam Research said Chief Executive Martin Anstice resigned late Wednesday following allegations of misconduct at the Fremont- based company.
In a statement, Lam said that Anstice agreed to step down “as the company investigates allegations of misconduct in the workplace and conduct inconsistent with the com- pany’s core values, including allegations about Mr. Anstice.” Lam didn’t disclose the nature of the allegations, other than to say they didn’t involve any kind of corporate financial malfeasance on Anstice’s part.
Lam said it had appointed Chief Operating Officer Tim Archer to replace Anstice as the company’s CEO. Archer will also take over as Lam’s president and join the company’s board of directors.
When asked if the allegations against Anstice stemmed from sexual harassment, or any other workplace- intimidation charges, a Lam spokesperson said that the company had no comment beyond its statement.
However, in that statement, Lam’s lead independent director, Abhi Talwalkar, hinted at a workplace situation in which an employee’s safety may have been in question, and stressed that Lam has a “commitment to provide a safe and positive work environment where each of our employees has the opportunity to thrive.”
“Lam Research takes all allegations of misconduct seriously,” Talwalkar said. “The company has policies in place to support and enforce this commitment.”
Lam said that it used an external law firm as part of its investigation into Anstice’s behavior, and that he is leaving the company without any severance benefits.
Anstice’s resignation follows similar CEO shakeups among several leading chip companies.
In June, Brian Krzanich stepped down as CEO at Intel after it became public he had had an inappropriate relationship with another Intel employee. Soon after that, Rambus fired its CEO, Ron Black, for violating the company’s code of conduct. In July, Brian Crutcher resigned as CEO of Texas Instruments due to similar code of conduct violations.