DURHAM – Neil Reynolds, a veteran financial executive in the semiconductor industry, is the new chief financial officer at Cree. But he didn’t hire on cheaply with the semiconductor, power supply and LED firm.
According to a securities filing, Cree (Nasdaq: CREE) has committed nearly $5 million in salary, bonuses and stock to Reynolds, who was announced as the replacement of longtime Cree CFO Mike McDevitt on Monday.
In addition to a starting salary of $455,000, the filing notes Reynolds is due to receive:
- A $500,000 “Sign-on Bonus”
- A $500,ooo payment after six months
- Another $500,000 after 12 months
- Relocation expenses
- Participation in a cash incentive program for fiscal year 2019
- $2 million in restricted stock
- Another $1.2 million in restricted and performance-based stock
“Neill is an exceptional leader with vast experience within the markets Cree serves,” said Gregg Lowe, Cree’s CEO, in the announcement.
“We believe that Neill’s industry knowledge will help position Cree for continued success and support our growth plans. We thank Mike for his substantial contributions to Cree’s success over the past 16 years and are grateful for his support during the transition.”
McDevitt had announced his plans to retire last month.
Lowe is familiar with Reynolds, who leaves NXP Semiconductors to join Cree. At NXP he had served as vice president of finance, strategy and procurement.
As Lauren Ohnesorge of the Triangle Business Journal notes: “Lowe [came] to Cree after having led Freescale Semiconductor, the Texas firm NXP bought out in 2015.”
Earlier in his career Reynolds worked at General Electric and other firms. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Boston College.
