STMicro's CEO kept the board — but Italy wanted him out anyway

In February 2025, the Italian government pushed to remove STMicroelectronics CEO Jean-Marc Chéry, citing underperformance and a 30% decline in the company's stock price over the previous year. Italy, a joint shareholder with France in the Franco-Dutch-Italian semiconductor company, argued that the board had failed to address the company's declining prospects amid industry headwinds.

The push for Chéry's dismissal exposed the fragility of STMicroelectronics' dual-shareholder governance structure. The company was founded as a merger of Italian and French state-backed semiconductor firms, and the two governments held significant influence over board appointments. The disagreement over Chéry's leadership created a public rift between the two shareholder states at a time when the European semiconductor industry was trying to present a unified front.

Chéry had led the company since 2018 and was credited with steering it through the global chip shortage of 2021-2023. However, the post-shortage downturn hit STMicroelectronics particularly hard, and the Italian government's patience ran out as the company's automotive and industrial chip sales declined. The situation was unresolved at the time of reporting, with Chéry remaining in post while the governance dispute continued.