COO – Regional Operations — Advanced-Node Design Organisation

The mandate

Following two years of uneven execution, the board is addressing regional delivery split across incompatible operating models within a multinational-owned fabless, foundry or semiconductor-systems enterprise. The immediate arena is the advanced-node design organisation during a product-roadmap transition. For mandate 544, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The COO – Regional Operations operating perimeter covers approximately ¥9,050 billion in design, manufacturing and customer programme portfolio, with activity spanning several advanced-node design organisation customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The COO – Regional Operations Semiconductor remit carries direct influence over roughly 950 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a COO – Regional Operations who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the advanced-node design organisation. The COO – Regional Operations Semiconductor seat must resolve a product-roadmap transition, while preserving the underlying strengths of the advanced-node design organisation. For mandate 544, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The COO – Regional Operations’s first year on the advanced-node design organisation is expected to end with one operating system, service reliability and scalable capacity. In mandate 544, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a planned replacement for the COO – Regional Operations — Advanced-Node Design Organisation seat. The incumbent continues to lead the advanced-node design organisation through an agreed succession period and will support a structured handover. The board has allowed 4–6 months to assess candidates, complete diligence and protect continuity while a product-roadmap transition is addressed. The search is confidential so the transition can be communicated to employees, customers and partners in a controlled sequence.

What you will own

• Set the COO – Regional Operations value-creation thesis for the advanced-node design organisation, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ¥9,050 billion in design, manufacturing and customer programme portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the COO – Regional Operations Semiconductor organisation of about 950 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the advanced-node design organisation economics and execution constraints created by a product-roadmap transition, with COO – Regional Operations-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one COO – Regional Operations operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the advanced-node design organisation; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have carried end-to-end delivery accountability across multiple sites, channels or markets with quantified service and cost outcomes in mandate 544.
• Build the COO – Regional Operations’s three-year succession and capability plan for the advanced-node design organisation, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Semiconductor organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the advanced-node design organisation baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to regional delivery split across incompatible operating models, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal COO – Regional Operations portfolio and organisation choices for the advanced-node design organisation, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable advanced-node design organisation trend against one operating system, service reliability and scalable capacity, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the COO – Regional Operations’s agreed first-year advanced-node design organisation value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A COO – Regional Operations forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the advanced-node design organisation’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the COO – Regional Operations mandate’s highest-priority advanced-node design organisation risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical advanced-node design organisation talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the COO – Regional Operations’s direct reports.
• A quantified COO – Regional Operations-owned improvement in the advanced-node design organisation operating constraint behind a product-roadmap transition, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 544: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Regional COO, Operations President or Delivery Executive in a multinational-owned Semiconductor or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the advanced-node design organisation, your COO – Regional Operations track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from semiconductors, electronics, embedded systems, advanced manufacturing or engineering services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this COO – Regional Operations brief.

As a COO – Regional Operations candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Semiconductor or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ¥5,250 billion and led an organisation of at least 950 people.

For mandate 544, the board wants two transitions: a difficult advanced-node design organisation portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a product-roadmap transition. As the prospective COO – Regional Operations for this advanced-node design organisation, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 544 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The COO – Regional Operations must be based in Tokyo; international relocation is supported, but this Semiconductor role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Regional COO, Operations President or Delivery Executive, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Semiconductor governance forum.
• Proven COO – Regional Operations ownership of at least ¥5,250 billion and leadership of no fewer than 950 employees in a comparable advanced-node design organisation context.
• One completed Semiconductor or adjacent-sector example of regional delivery split across incompatible operating models with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from semiconductors, electronics, embedded systems, advanced manufacturing or engineering services; experience that is purely functional and lacks COO – Regional Operations-level advanced-node design organisation consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Tokyo location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 544.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated COO – Regional Operations package is ¥52–72 million base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final advanced-node design organisation scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 544 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The COO – Regional Operations appointment in Tokyo, centred on the advanced-node design organisation, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 544.

Confidentiality

The client name, precise footprint and transaction history are outside this brief for mandate 544. They will be shared with qualified candidates under a mutual undertaking, and the composite facts here must not be reverse-engineered or circulated for mandate 544.