Taiwan Semiconductor's Top Supply Chain Executive Exits

Taiwanese contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (NYSE:TSM) announced on Friday that Vanessa Lee, its head of materials management, has resigned for personal reasons. The company confirmed to the Taipei Times that the leadership change takes effect on Sunday.

Cliff Hou, Taiwan Semiconductor’s senior vice president and deputy co-COO, will immediately take over the materials management division, which has already been under his supervision.

Lee, who joined Taiwan Semiconductor in 2022, rose quickly, becoming vice president in August 2023. She developed systems to forecast supplier demand and monitor supply chain performance. Taiwan Semiconductor credited her with helping the company navigate supply chain disruptions during the 2020 pandemic.

Also Read: Taiwan Semiconductor Outperforming The Market Shows Moat, But It Comes With Risk

Before joining Taiwan Semiconductor, Lee held senior supply chain roles at Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), gaining over a decade of experience in global sourcing and procurement.

Taiwan Semiconductor stock surged almost 17% year-to-date, topping the PHLX Semiconductor Index’s over 14% (whose components include Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Taiwan Semiconductor. The company reported second-quarter 2025 revenue of 933.79 billion New Taiwan dollars (about $31.9 billion), up from 839.25 billion ($25.5 billion) New Taiwan dollars in the first quarter. This marks a 38.6% year-over-year increase, surpassing the company’s guidance of $28.4 billion to $29.2 billion issued in April.

Bloomberg analyst Charles Shum credited the strong results to surging AI-related demand from chipmakers like Nvidia and growing outsourcing orders from Intel (NASDAQ:INTC). He noted that this momentum is helping offset weakness in the mobile and consumer electronics sectors, keeping Taiwan Semiconductor on track to achieve its 25% annual sales-growth target in U.S. dollars.

Shum added that operating margins may land near the lower end of guidance, around 47%, due to a weaker U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor is accelerating its U.S. expansion plans, reportedly shifting focus to American operations amid potential chip import tariffs from Washington.

Price Action: TSM stock is trading lower by 0.10% to $230.17 premarket at last check Monday.

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