Nexperia Faces Leadership Shake-Up and Government Oversight in the Netherlands
Enterprise Chamber Ruling
On October 7, 2025, following an emergency hearing, the Enterprise Chamber of the Netherlands issued a preliminary ruling indicating there are sufficient grounds to question whether Nexperia was being properly managed under the leadership of former CEO Zhang Xuezheng.
As an immediate measure, the Enterprise Chamber decided to suspend Zhang Xuezheng from his position as director, effectively removing him from his role as Chief Executive Officer of Nexperia.
In addition, the Chamber ruled that nearly all voting rights attached to Nexperia shares indirectly held by Wingtech Technology Co., Ltd. (“Wingtech”) have been transferred to an independent administrator appointed by the court.
Moving forward, Chief Financial Officer Stefan Tilger will serve as Interim CEO, while Achim Kempe will continue as Chief Operating Officer. Chief Legal Officer Ruben Lichtenberg will remain a statutory director of Nexperia Holding BV and Nexperia BV, and Guido Dierick has been appointed by the Enterprise Chamber as non-executive director.
Dutch Government Intervention
Citing the same serious management deficiencies, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs stated that Nexperia’s European operations were being compromised in an unacceptable manner, raising broad concerns about the security of semiconductor supply critical to European industry.
The conduct of Zhang Xuezheng, both as CEO and indirect shareholder, together with the perceived risks to the supply of essential semiconductor products in the Netherlands and Europe, prompted the Dutch government to issue a special emergency order under the Goods Supply Act (Wbg).
Under this order, Nexperia is prohibited for one year from taking key actions such as relocating company departments, dismissing senior executives, or making strategic decisions without explicit government approval.
The measure aims to safeguard business continuity and ensure that the company’s production of critical components remains uninterrupted—thereby protecting the economic security of the Netherlands and the wider European region.
Nexperia has emphasized that daily operations remain unaffected.
Export Control Developments
On September 29, 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) expanded its export control rules to include companies 50% or more owned by entities listed on the U.S. Entity List.
While Nexperia itself was not specifically named, the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wingtech Technology Co., Ltd., which was added to the Entity List in December 2024.
As a result, Nexperia is now subject to these restrictions.
The company has taken proactive steps to ensure business continuity, and with the 60-day grace period provided by BIS, remains confident that a viable resolution can be reached.
On October 4, 2025, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a separate export control notice, prohibiting Nexperia China and its subcontractors from exporting certain finished products and subcomponents manufactured in China.
Nexperia is actively engaging with Chinese government authorities to seek exemptions from these restrictions and has allocated all available resources to this effort.
The company continues to maintain close communication with national and local government bodies to mitigate the impact of these measures.