Divisional Chief Financial Officer — Data-Centre Silicon Platform

The mandate

Following two years of uneven execution, the board is addressing a division requiring independent economics before a strategic transaction within a multinational-owned fabless, foundry or semiconductor-systems enterprise. The immediate arena is the data-centre silicon platform during a design-win conversion gap. For mandate 524, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Divisional Chief Financial Officer operating perimeter covers approximately US$9,200 million in design, manufacturing and customer programme portfolio, with activity spanning several data-centre silicon platform customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Divisional Chief Financial Officer Semiconductor remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,400 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Divisional Chief Financial Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the data-centre silicon platform. The Divisional Chief Financial Officer Semiconductor seat must resolve a design-win conversion gap, while preserving the underlying strengths of the data-centre silicon platform. For mandate 524, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Divisional Chief Financial Officer’s first year on the data-centre silicon platform is expected to end with stand-alone controls, value visibility and transaction readiness. In mandate 524, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

The Divisional Chief Financial Officer — Data-Centre Silicon Platform requirement was not included in the approved hiring calendar. It became urgent after a design-win conversion gap created an immediate need for one accountable owner of the data-centre silicon platform. Interim coverage protects essential decisions, but split ownership cannot continue through the next operating gate. The board intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 4–6 weeks while preserving confidential, evidence-led diligence.

What you will own

• Set the Divisional Chief Financial Officer value-creation thesis for the data-centre silicon platform, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately US$9,200 million in design, manufacturing and customer programme portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Divisional Chief Financial Officer Semiconductor organisation of about 1,400 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the data-centre silicon platform economics and execution constraints created by a design-win conversion gap, with Divisional Chief Financial Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Divisional Chief Financial Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the data-centre silicon platform; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have signed or directly owned board financial statements, liquidity decisions and investment cases at the stated scale in mandate 524.
• Build the Divisional Chief Financial Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the data-centre silicon platform, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Semiconductor organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the data-centre silicon platform baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to a division requiring independent economics before a strategic transaction, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Divisional Chief Financial Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the data-centre silicon platform, 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 data-centre silicon platform trend against stand-alone controls, value visibility and transaction readiness, 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 Divisional Chief Financial Officer’s agreed first-year data-centre silicon platform value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Divisional Chief Financial Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the data-centre silicon platform’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Divisional Chief Financial Officer mandate’s highest-priority data-centre silicon platform risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical data-centre silicon platform talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Divisional Chief Financial Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Divisional Chief Financial Officer-owned improvement in the data-centre silicon platform operating constraint behind a design-win conversion gap, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 524: 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 Divisional CFO, Business CFO or Finance Director in a multinational-owned Semiconductor or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the data-centre silicon platform, your Divisional Chief Financial Officer 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 Divisional Chief Financial Officer brief.

As a Divisional Chief Financial Officer 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 US$5,350 million and led an organisation of at least 975 people.

For mandate 524, the board wants two transitions: a difficult data-centre silicon platform portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a design-win conversion gap. As the prospective Divisional Chief Financial Officer for this data-centre silicon platform, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 524 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Divisional Chief Financial Officer must be based in Austin; 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 Divisional CFO, Business CFO or Finance Director, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Semiconductor governance forum.
• Proven Divisional Chief Financial Officer ownership of at least US$5,350 million and leadership of no fewer than 975 employees in a comparable data-centre silicon platform context.
• One completed Semiconductor or adjacent-sector example of a division requiring independent economics before a strategic transaction 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 Divisional Chief Financial Officer-level data-centre silicon platform consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Austin location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 524.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Divisional Chief Financial Officer package is US$430,000–575,000 base + annual incentive and equity, calibrated to the final data-centre silicon platform scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 524 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Divisional Chief Financial Officer appointment in Austin, centred on the data-centre silicon platform, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 524.

Confidentiality

The client name, precise footprint and transaction history are outside this brief for mandate 524. 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 524.