Newly nominated TSMC chair candidate C.C. Wei (魏哲家) will have major challenges ahead of him if elected, such as dealing with the company’s new expansions into the United States and Germany. That’s according to Taiwan industry analyst Chen Tzu-ang (陳子昂), speaking on Wednesday.
TSMC made the surprise announcement on Tuesday that current Chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) would retire next year, and that current vice-chair and CEO C.C. Wei has been nominated to succeed Liu, subject to a new board election next year. Liu took over the chairman role in 2018, following the departure of TSMC founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). Chang’s role of CEO and chairman was split between Wei and Liu, but if Wei takes on both roles next year the company will return to having a unitary leadership position.
Analysts such as Chen say that Wei will face several challenges during his potential tenure. Geopolitical risks will continue for the foreseeable future, such as military conflict, supply chain issues, and the U.S.-China trade war. While TSMC’s construction of its fabs in Kumamoto, Japan appears to be going relatively smoothly, its projects in Germany and the U.S. have faced more difficulties in funding and personnel. As TSMC does not have much experience in overseas operations, this will be a major concern. While TSMC continues to be the leader in the manufacture of the world’s most advanced chips, it will need to ensure that its R&D continues to excel if it wants to keep its leadership position through the next generation of chip technologies.