October 25, 2007 – Hans Stork, formerly CTO and SVP of silicon technology development at Texas Instruments, has left his position to take on the role of CTO and group VP of Applied Materials’ silicon systems group, responsible for the company’s development of semiconductor equipment technologies.

Stork will lead AMAT’s roadmap for silicon technology equipment, oversee integration across the company’s silicon products, and coordinate external “engagements” with partners and academia, according to a statement. Mark Pinto, the previous CTO, will stay as corporate CTO focusing on cross-company strategies and new technology/business opportunities.

“With Hans joining SSG, we are reinforcing our commitment to meeting the technology needs of our customers and advancing the semiconductor technology roadmap,” stated Pinto.

Stork led IBM’s efforts on silicon germanium bipolar technology from 1982-1994, then after a stint at Hewlett-Packard he joined TI in 2001 as SVP of silicon technology development, and was promoted to CTO in early 2004. He was named an IEEE Fellow in 1994, and has sat on the Semiconductor Research Corp.’s board since 1999 and SEMATECH’s since 2002.

The move likely comes about amid a broader restructuring of TI’s internal technology infrastructure, as it prepares to shift most of the heavy development work for 32nm and beyond chipmaking to foundry partners. The company’s digital KFAB site in Dallas (involving >200 positions) is among the closures, with a larger cost-reduction plan eyeing 500 job cuts, totaling ~$55M in charges but ultimately saving $200M annually. Capex also is being sharply pruned, slashed by nearly 30% this year to $0.9B, and going forward kept down to <10% of sales.