SINGAPORE - Semiconductor testing equipment manufacturer AEM Holdings announced on July 27 the resignation of its chief executive officer Amy Leong on the same day.

Ms Leong, who held the post for slightly more than a year, will be replaced by Samer Kabbani, the group’s president and chief technology officer, from July 28.

In a regulatory filing on the night of July 27, AEM cited “board-led leadership realignment for growth” as the reason for Ms Leong’s resignation.

The filing indicated that there are no unresolved differences in opinion on material matters between Ms Leong and the board of directors, including matters that would have a material impact on the group or its financial reporting.

To assist with the transition, Ms Leong will continue as a senior adviser to AEM, the company said in the filing.

Loke Wai San, non-executive chairman of AEM, said: “Samer Kabbani brings a proven track record of commercial and technical excellence. His leadership is central to AEM’s long-term strategy. Together with the broader AEM leadership team, the board is confident that the group will continue to deliver diversified growth through our innovative technology platforms.”

Mr Loke is also the founder and CEO of private equity fund adviser Novo Tellus Capital Partners.

Mr Kabbani, who has been with AEM since 2020, has led the development of the next-generation test technology road map, significantly growing the group’s intellectual property assets – particularly in advanced active thermal control – and its product portfolio, AEM said.

He was previously executive vice-president at Advantest and Astronics Test Systems, respectively. In his 14-year tenure at Cohu, Mr Kabbani served in key senior management roles, including Delta Design Systems president.

Mr Kabbani is a “prolific innovator with more than 30 registered patents in areas of advanced thermal management, photoresist processing, factory automation, and vision alignment and inspection”, as described on the AEM website.

Before joining AEM, Ms Leong was senior vice-president and chief commercial officer at California-based FormFactor. She has a master’s in material science from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

In May, AEM reported a 42.9 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to $3.3 million for the first quarter of financial year 2025 ended March, as net profit margin improved.

However, revenue was 8.7 per cent lower at $86 million against $94.2 million for the year-ago period. AEM said this was in line with its first-half revenue guidance of $155 million to $170 million, despite the uncertainty created by the tariff turmoil.

The company said then that it is on track with its revenue diversification efforts, as revenue from new customers in its Test Cell Solutions segment doubled that of the previous quarter.

In June, AEM raised its revenue guidance for the first half of the financial year ending June 30 to between $185 million and $195 million, on the back of an unexpected pull-in of orders into FY2025.

AEM shares closed at $1.72 on Friday (July 25), up three cents or 1.8 per cent.

THE BUSINESS TIMES

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