- After almost eight years in the position
- Primit Parikh taking over
(exechange) — Goleta, California, May 12, 2023 — Mario Rivas, chief executive of Transphorm, leaves his position. As announced by Transphorm Inc. in a regulatory filing published on Friday, May 12, 2023, Mario Rivas leaves his post as chief executive officer at the semiconductor company, after almost eight years in the role, effective May 15, 2023.
Mario Rivas’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Primit Parikh, currently President and Chief Operating Officer at Transphorm Inc.
No reason given
In the announcement, Transphorm did not explicitly explain the reason for the move.
Precise information regarding Mario Rivas’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Resignation/retirement”
Transphorm said: “On May 10, 2023, Mario Rivas informed the board of directors (the “Board”) of Transphorm, Inc. (the “Company”) of his resignation from his positions as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board, as a member of the Board, and from all other positions he holds in the Company or any of its subsidiaries, effective as of May 15, 2023.”
Transphorm further said: “Mr. Rivas’s retirement is part of the Company’s management succession planning, and not a result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to its operations, policies or practices.”
Share price decline since May 2022
The announcement follows a decline in Transphorm Inc.’s share price of 46% since May 2022.
In the position of CEO since 2015
Mario Rivas became CEO in 2015.
Mario Rivas has served as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board since February 2020 and as Chair of the Board since May 2022.
He has also served as Chief Executive Officer of Transphorm Technology since October 2015 and as a member of the board of directors of Transphorm Technology since June 2015.
Previously, Rivas was Vice President of Strategy and Business Development of Digital Heat Corporation, a manufacturer of electric eyelid heaters, from July 2013 to September 2015, President and Chief Executive Officer of ANADIGICS, Inc., a semiconductor company, from January 2009 to April 2011, and Chief Executive Officer of Quartics, Inc., a fabless semiconductor and software company, from September 2008 to January 2009.
Prior to that, Rivas held executive positions at Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Philips Semiconductors and Motorola Semiconductor.
He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas and an M.S. in Semiconductor Physics and an M.S. in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
No statement by Mario Rivas
The announcement of his departure as CEO does not include a statement by Mario Rivas.
41% of CEOs are forced out or fired
When CEO departures are announced, exechange determines the Push-out Score on a scale of 0 to 10 to assess how likely it is that the chief executive was pushed out or felt pressure to leave the position, with 0 being most likely a voluntary move and 10 being most likely a forced exit. Anything over a 5 indicates that there are valid reasons to believe an executive may have been pushed out.
Of the 316 CEO departures in the Russell 3000 Index evaluated over the past 12 months (May 12, 2022, to May 11, 2023), the average Push-out Score was 6.1, according to exechange data. References to conduct issues, disagreements and irregularities lead to the highest Push-out Scores. When performance issues, pursuit of other opportunities or time with family were cited as departure reasons, the average Push-out Scores were also significantly elevated.
Around 41% of the CEO departure events from the past 12 months received Push-out Scores of 8 or higher.
In other words, in the past 12 months, two in five departing CEOs were forced out or fired.
Push-out Score for Mario Rivas’s move determined
The Push-out Score regarding Mario Rivas’s move is explained point by point in the exechange report.
exechange reached out to Transphorm and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 20.2023 ($).