Another semiconductor company fires CEO for bad behavior.
Rambus’ board of directors fired its CEO, Ron Black, on Thursday. The semiconductor and intellectual property company did not disclose any specific reason for the firing, except that his conduct was beneath the board’s standards.
“The termination follows an incident unrelated to the Company’s financial and business performance in which the Board determined Dr. Black’s conduct fell short of the company’s standards,” says a press release from Rambus.
Luc Seraphin was named interim CEO. He previously served as senior vice president and general manager of Rambus’s memory and interface division. Chuck Kissner will serve as vice chairman to support Mr. Seraphin during the interim period.
Black’s contract was set to expire in 2022, reports The Wall Street Journal. His term as CEO began in 2012.
Rambus specializes in IP and memory semiconductors for data centers and mobile edge. The company has been involved in patent disputes with Samsung and Micron in the past. In 2017, the company started working with venture capital firm SoftBank to improve IoT security.
Black is the second CEO to be fired from a semiconductor company in the last week. Intel’s former CEO Brian Krzanich was let go one week ago for a consensual affair he had with a subordinate, violating Intel’s anti-fraternization policy.
