SEMATECH, the global consortium of semiconductor manufacturers, announced today that Ronald Goldblatt, vice president of Technical Strategy and Operations, has been appointed by the board of directors as acting president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Dr. Goldblatt will replace Daniel Armbrust, who served as SEMATECH’s president and CEO since November 2009.

“On behalf of SEMATECH’s board, we wish to thank Dan for his many contributions over the past five years and for the passion, dedication and leadership he brought to SEMATECH,” said Chairman William Rozich. “The board sees tremendous opportunity for ongoing growth and we have full confidence in Ron’s ability to lead a diverse and innovative team that will build on our initiatives and assure SEMATECH’s position as the place to collaborate for critical industry technology transitions.”

Dr. Goldblatt will be responsible for ensuring a smooth transition and leading SEMATECH’s executive team. Goldblatt joined SEMATECH as vice president of Technical Strategy and Operations in September 2013, and brings significant executive leadership to his new responsibilities.

Prior to joining SEMATECH, Goldblatt spent 32 years at IBM Corporation, culminating his tenure as Distinguished Engineer and senior manager of Advanced Silicon Science and Process Technology for the company’s Microelectronics Division and IBM Research in Yorktown Heights, NY. His leadership was marked by successful efforts in leading the transformation of IBM’s semiconductor research cleanroom, supporting early prototyping of breakthrough technologies, and developing leading-edge semiconductor technologies.

“Our charge at SEMATECH has always been to move the industry forward and deliver value to our members,” said Goldblatt. “Going forward, we will continue to flawlessly execute on our current operating strategy, leverage the full capabilities of our technical programs, and increase our relevance to our members and to the industry at large.”