Munich Frans Scheper is used to handling large sums of money. The Dutchman has been pulling the strings in the capital-intensive chip industry for 30 years, in the meantime he headed the semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia with more than 10,000 employees.
The business economist has been managing Intel’s business in Europe since February. At the top of his agenda: Scheper has to get rid of around ten billion euros in subsidies from the EU and European governments. This is also a challenge for a seasoned semiconductor manager. “So far, we have not worked directly with the stakeholders,” says Scheper. Meetings with ministers, researchers and university presidents are now on the agenda almost every day.
The business economist occupies a key position in the catch-up of Pat Gelsinger. In the spring of 2021, the Intel CEO started to lead the faltering chip manufacturer back to where it had been inconceivable for decades: to the top of the semiconductor industry.
