EXCO (EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE)

ExCo (Executive Committee)

The Executive Committee (ExCo) consists of the Management Board members and, currently, three other senior executive leaders. These members of the ExCo are essential in driving and executing the Growth through Innovation strategy of the company. The ExCo assists the Management Board in managing the company, including day-to-day management, strategic matters, leadership, culture and sustainability.

Benjamin Loh

Mr. Loh was appointed as chairman of the Management Board and President and Chief Executive Officer of ASM International on May 18, 2020.

Benjamin was previously senior VP for Oerlikon Corporation, responsible for Asia. He then joined Veeco Instruments Inc., an American thin-film process semiconductor equipment manufacturer, as senior VP and general manager for Asia, before becoming executive VP, responsible for global field operations. Benjamin then joined FEI Company as a senior executive, holding various positions responsible for sales and service and global business operations, before becoming COO. He later joined VAT Vacuum Valves as executive VP and a member of the group management board, where he was responsible for worldwide sales and marketing. His vast experience includes roles as a non-executive director for several companies (Schneeberger, Schweiter Technologies AG, and Liteq BV). He was also an advisory board member of Semi China.

Benjamin has a bachelor's degree in electronic engineering from Tohoku University in Japan. A Singaporean national, he has lived in Japan, Hong Kong, China, the UK, and now the Netherlands.

Paul Verhagen

Mr. Verhagen was appointed as a member of the Management Board and Chief Financial Officer of ASM International on June 1, 2021.

Paul has a proven track record and background in Dutch listed companies and the electronics industry. Starting in the early 1990s, he made a career at Royal Philips, fulfilling numerous executive positions in the Netherlands, the US, Hong Kong, and China. His last two assignments with the company – from 2007 until 2013 – were as executive VP and CFO of Philips Consumer Lifestyle, and executive VP and CFO of Philips Lighting. In 2014, he became the CFO and member of the Management Board of the Dutch stock-listed company Fugro N.V. 

Paul holds a Master of Business Administration degree, and has a post-graduate degree as a Chartered Controller. He is a Dutch national.

Hichem M'Saad

Dr. M'Saad was appointed as a member of the Management Board and Chief Technology Officer as of May 16, 2022. As CTO, Hichem oversees ASM's technical product portfolio and future technologies and innovation. He has over 25 years of experience in the semiconductor equipment industry. Hichem joined ASM in 2015 as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Thermal Products business unit. From 2019 he held the role of Executive Vice President and General Manager of Global Products, including responsibility for developing ASM's ALD, Epi, VF, and PECVD products. In addition, he has been instrumental in several of ASM's new innovative and successful products, including the Intrepid ES, Synergis, Previum, and A400 DUO. Before joining ASM, he had a 15-year tenure with Applied Materials. He started his career as a process development engineer working on various dielectric CVD applications; he rose to the level of Corporate VP and General Manager of the Dielectric Systems and Modules (DSM) and the Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) divisions. He also served as CEO of a start-up in the solar photovoltaic industry for six years.

Hichem M'Saad received his Bachelor of Science degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, his Master's degree in Materials Science & Engineering from Cornell University, and his Ph.D. in Electronic Materials Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has authored 57 technical articles and holds nearly 200 granted patents.

Brian Birmingham

Mr. Birmingham serves as Senior Vice President Global Sales and was appointed as an executive committee member of ASMI on February 1, 2022. He joined ASM in May 2021.

Brian has more than 26 years of experience in the semiconductor equipment industry. He has a strong track record working with customers’ R&D teams to capture new applications and grow business across the American, Asian and European customer base. Prior to joining ASM, Brian spent 20 years with Lam Research & Novellus Systems (acquired by Lam in June 2012). His most recent assignment with Lam was as corporate VP and general manager responsible for the relationship with a major memory manufacturer in China. Previously, he held positions as VP Global Field Development, and VP/GM of major semiconductor manufacturers in both memory and logic/foundry.  Brian also lived in both Japan and Taiwan as Vice President Business Development.

He has a master’s degree in systems engineering from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s degree in general engineering/management studies from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Ralph Otte

Mr. Otte serves as Chief People Officer and was appointed as an Executive Committee member of ASM International on February 1, 2022.

Ralph has a proven track record and background in a variety of industries and within listed companies. After graduating from the Royal Military Academy in the Netherlands in the late 1980s, he began a career with the Royal Dutch Airforce. From 1993, he held various senior HR positions in specialized healthcare, and led a merger and integration between three healthcare organizations. He then moved to Accenture as a strategy consultant, specializing in organization and change strategy. From 2000 till 2010, Ralph held various executive HR leadership positions at ASML, before transferring to DAF / PACCAR to become a member of their management team, responsible for HR. He joined ASM in 2013, and was appointed as CHRO.

Ralph has a master’s degree in human resources, and an executive master’s in financial economics, both from the University of Tilburg. He also completed the post-graduate master’s program in executive change management at Sioo/Utrecht. He is a Dutch national.

Kent Rossman

Mr. Rossman joined ASM in 2019, and served as the Corporate Vice President Global Spares & Services. He was appointed as an Executive Committee member of ASM International on February 1, 2022. As of February 1, 2023, he was promoted to Senior Vice President Global Operations.

Kent has more than 28 years of experience in the semiconductor equipment industry. Before joining ASM, he had a 26-year tenure with Applied Materials. He started his career as a process development engineer, working on various dielectric CVD film applications, and served in various capacities – from sales, to product management, to leading technology-development teams. Within Applied, Kent rose to the level of vice president in charge of business management for chemical mechanical polishing and packaging, plating, and cleans product families, business development for new markets and alliances, and head of sourcing for the global services and spares group. Kent has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota and holds 22 granted patents. He relocated from Silicon Valley, northern California, to Singapore in 2022.He is a US national.