In a surprise announcement, AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) yesterday said company founder and chairman Lee Kun-yao (李焜燿) has resigned.
The nation’s No. 2 LCD panelmaker said in a statement that its board of directors yesterday approved Lee’s resignation and promoted chief executive officer Paul Peng (彭双浪) to succeed Lee.
Peng will double as CEO and Lee will retain his post as director of the board.
The 63-year-old Lee’s resignation came as a bombshell, as he only returned to work in February after spending four months recovering from a stroke.
The company said Lee is still recuperating from the stroke and will focus on integrating the resources of AUO and its affiliates.
The company said Lee decided to hand over the reins earlier than planned as he has faith in Peng, who has steered the company through the industry’s worst slump and the company’s toughest period, including paying US$500 million in anti-trust penalties.
Lee believes Peng will steer the company to another wave of growth, AUO said in the statement.
AUO last month reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit at NT$5.27 billion (US$171.2 million) for the first quarter, with gross margins reaching a 19-quarter high at 10.7 percent during the seasonally slack period.
Peng joined AUO in 1998, two years after the company was established, and rose to chief executive in 2012. He helped set up AUO’s first factory in Suzhou, China.
AUO was created in 2001 through the merger of Acer Display Technology, an affliated of an affiliate of Acer Inc (宏電) that was established in 1996, and Unipac Optoelectronics Corp (聯友光電), an affiliate of semiconductor foundry giant United Microelectronics Corp (聯電). AT the time, Lee was chairman of Acer Display.
In 2006, AUO bought liquid-crystal display maker Quanta Display Inc (廣輝電子).
The company last year posted its highest net profit in six years, NT$18.06 billion, or NT$1.83 per share.
AUO shares yesterday edged up 0.66 percent to NT$15.3 in Taipei trading, outperforming the TAIEX, which dropped 0.29 percent.
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