Lattice Semiconductor, trying to rebound from its blocked $1.3 billion buyout deal and mounting troubles in its programmable chip business, is giving the steering wheel over to new management. On Monday, the company hired James Anderson, the former head of the computing and graphics business inside Advanced Micro Devices, to be its new chief executive.
He replaces Glen Hawk, the former chief operating officer who came into the role after chief executive Darin Billerbeck stepped down in June. The company has been struggling to make ends meet in the business of programmable chips—more commonly called FPGAs—which are used in the industrial, communications and automotive sectors. The company said that Anderson would take over on September 4.
Jeff Richardson, Lattice’s chairman, said in a statement that Anderson “brings a strong combination of business and technical leadership with a deep understanding of our target end markets and customers. The transformation he drove of AMD’s Computing and Graphics business over the past few years is just a recent example of his long track record.” He had previously worked for Intel and Broadcom.
Hiring Anderson follows the collapse of the company’s buyout deal with investment firm Canyon Bridge, which is partly funded by the Chinese government. The Treasury Department was concerned that Lattice’s chips could be redesigned and used in missile defense systems and satellites. Last year, President Trump blocked the deal. Canyon Bridge’s founder was subsequently charged in the United States with securities fraud.