Wingtech Technology, the Chinese owner of Nexperia, has named Sophie Shen Xinjia, an experienced general counsel and Columbia Law School graduate, as chairwoman amid a Sino-Dutch dispute over control of the Netherlands-based chipmaker.
Shen’s term as chairman would be in line with that of Wingtech’s 12th board of directors, which was formed in January and will expire by January 2028, according to the company’s filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Friday.
She replaced Zhang Qiuhong, who was chairman of Wingtech until his resignation on July 14, according to the company’s July 15 filing. At the time, Shen was the company’s general counsel. Shen was named vice president the same day Zhang resigned, but served as the company’s interim president, according to the filing.
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Shen, 41, joined Nexperia in January 2017 as head of legal affairs for the Asia-Pacific region, after working at US firm TRW and German engineering company Bosch.
His appointment and experience reflect Wingtech’s current need to overcome problems related to Nexperia, which Dutch authorities took control of on September 30, citing national security concerns and invoking an obscure 1952 law known as the Goods Availability Act.
Sophia Shen Xinjia, new president of Wingtech Technology. Photo: alt document = Sophia Shen Xinjia, new president of Wingtech Technology. Photo: Handout>
According to Wingtech’s filing, Shen has more than 15 years of experience as a legal advisor. This covered areas such as corporate governance and compliance, mergers and acquisitions and cross-border transactions. Shen was also qualified to practice law in China, the company said.
The Dutch action against Nexperia – which included ousting Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng as CEO of the chipmaker – came a day after the US government extended export control restrictions to entities at least 50 percent owned by companies on Washington’s trade blacklist. 100% owned by Wingtech, on the blacklist, Nexperia was subject to American sanctions.
Beijing reacted on October 4 by banning Nexperia China and its subcontractors from exporting finished components produced in the country. About 70 percent of all Nexperia products are assembled at its factory in Dongguan, in the southern province of Guangdong.
