Veeco Announces Leadership Changes

John Peeler, chairman and CEO of semiconductor process equipment manufacturer Veeco Instruments Inc., has transitioned to the role of executive chairman. William J. Miller, the former president, has become the CEO and a member of the company’s board of directors, and Shubham Maheshwari has been named chief operating officer while continuing his role as chief financial officer.

Peeler joined Veeco in 2007 as CEO and became chairman of the board in 2012. As executive chairman, he will work closely with Miller and the board to ensure an effective transition of management.

“With his impressive background and track record of notable achievements across strategic, product development, and operational assignments, there is no one better suited than Bill [Miller] to take over the helm as Veeco looks forward to its next chapter,” Peeler said. “Bill and the executive team have the industry experience to execute Veeco’s vision while remaining committed to enabling tomorrow’s technology breakthroughs.”

Over the past 16 years, Miller has held a variety of roles within Veeco. He became president in 2016, overseeing all of Veeco’s global business units. Previously, he guided the strategic direction and product development for the company’s metal-organic chemical vapor deposition and ion beam product lines and was responsible for the company’s global operations organization. Before joining Veeco, Miller held engineering and operations leadership roles with Advanced Energy and Exxon Corp. He holds bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

“Veeco has built a reputation of helping customers overcome their most difficult technical challenges. This inspires us — along with our commitment to customer satisfaction,” Miller said. “I want to thank John [Peeler] for his guidance and building such a strong leadership team. I intend to build on this legacy while discovering new opportunities to leverage the company’s outstanding technology and unmatched talent. I also appreciate the confidence the board has placed in me.”

Maheshwari joined Veeco in 2014 with more than 20 years of experience in finance. He previously held senior and executive level positions in the semiconductor industry at KLA-Tencor, Spansion, and OnCore. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering in addition to an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. Working next to Miller, Maheshwari will be charged with advancing Veeco’s operations, customer satisfaction, and profitability.

Veeco’s metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, lithography, laser annealing, ion beam, and single-wafer etch and clean technologies help produce LEDs for solid-state lighting and displays, and the fabrication of advanced semiconductor devices.