Vedanta makes another C-level appointment for chip business in India

Less than two months after the appointment of a new chief executive officer, David Reed, to lead its semiconductor business in India, Vedanta-Foxconn Semiconductors Limited (VFSL), has made another C-level appointment, hiring Lawrence (Wong Chee Yoong), a senior director of Human Resources (HR) for its chip business.  

In February 2022, industrialist Anil Agarwal-led mining company Vedanta group and Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) had entered into a pact to form a joint venture (JV) company - Vedanta-Foxconn Semiconductors Limited — to manufacture semiconductors in India. Months later in September, the two signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government to invest ₹1,54,000 crore to set up India's first semiconductor plant in Gujarat, and said that the facility would create one lakh job opportunities.

Lawrence, who has a broad technical background with more than two-decades of experience in the semiconductor industry, will lead the overall human capital strategies for the business as the company looks at establishing a state-of-the-art semiconductor fab unit and semiconductor assembling and testing unit in India. He will be responsible for hiring the best global talent and building the company’s talent pipeline across multiple functions, the company said in a statement. 

David Reed, CEO, Vedanta-Foxconn Semiconductors Limited (VFSL), said that the entire world is watching as India takes the lead in establishing the country’s first semiconductor fab. “With his rich experience in leading the Human Resources function for some of the top global semiconductor companies, Lawrence will play a key role in helping attract top talent to India,” he added.  

Lawrence has joined Vedanta from Lighthouse Global Resources, where he was Global Strategic Director for semiconductor/technology practices. He has worked with the world’s leading fabless, foundries and technology companies for customised and total talent management solutions. Prior to that Lawrence has served as General Manager of Photronics Singapore, responsible for P&L and Operations.   

A bachelors in electrical and electronics engineering from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, he began his career in 1999 with SSMC, a joint venture between Philips Semiconductor (now NXP) and TSMC, as part of the team responsible for technology transfer of the Singapore 8-inch wafer fab start-up.