Hassane El-Khoury

Hassane El-Khoury became President and CEO of ON Semiconductor (rebranded to onsemi) in December 2020 at age 41, bringing a fresh and aggressive strategic vision. A Lebanese-American engineer who previously served as CEO of Cypress Semiconductor before its acquisition by Infineon, El-Khoury recognized that ON Semi was underperforming because it was spread too thin across low-margin commodity chip businesses. His transformation was swift and decisive. El-Khoury divested or exited underperforming product lines, shut down smaller fabs, and channeled investment into two high-growth areas: silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors for electric vehicles, and intelligent sensing (primarily image sensors for automotive ADAS and industrial applications). SiC chips are essential for EV powertrains because they enable more efficient power conversion than traditional silicon, extending range and reducing cooling requirements. Onsemi invested heavily in vertical integration — building its own SiC substrate production — to control the supply chain and capture more value. The financial results vindicated El-Khoury's strategy: onsemi's gross margins expanded from the low 30s percent to nearly 50%, and the stock tripled from his appointment through 2023. However, a normalization in the automotive semiconductor cycle starting in 2024 tested the durability of the premium valuation. El-Khoury's decisions on SiC capacity expansion timing, long-term supply agreements with automakers, competition with Wolfspeed and STMicroelectronics in the SiC market, and the balance between growth investment and shareholder returns are the key drivers of onsemi's stock.