Mr. M’Saad was appointed as Chair of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer on May 13, 2024.    

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, in which he was responsible for developing ASM’s ALD, Epi, VF, and PECVD products.  

An experienced, passionate leader, Hichem has been instrumental in ASM’s innovative, disruptive technologies and products, including the Intrepid ES, Synergis, Previum, and SONORA. 

On May 16, 2022, Hichem was appointed as a member of the Management Board for a period of four years and Chief Technology Officer, overseeing ASM’s technical product portfolio, platform group, and future technologies, and has been a key driver in ASM’s ‘Growth through Innovation’ strategy.  

Hichem started his career as a process development engineer on various dielectric CVD applications. He became 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 received a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, a master’s degree in materials science & engineering from Cornell University, and a PhD in electronic materials science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has written 57 technical articles and holds nearly 200 granted patents. Hichem is a non-executive director of ASMPT Ltd. He is a US and Tunisian national.