🔴 Situation Room — October 3 — Pierre Barnabé at SOITEC

A strategic manufacturer, at the heart of Europe’s technological sovereignty, announces the scheduled departure of its CEO, Pierre Barnabé. Officially, the transition will be orderly, without disruption, under the supervision of the board of directors. But a HUMINT reading goes further: institutional communication is only a façade.

Three invisible dynamics overlap.

1. Market credibility.

Over the past two years, guidance has been revised downward, mid-term objectives withdrawn, and investors have heavily sanctioned the stock. In this context, the CEO’s departure is not merely about “personal reasons”: it embodies the board’s need to restore damaged credibility. The immediate rebound in the share price confirms that the market reads this decision as a signal of clean-up.

2. Governance fracture.

Behind closed doors, a longstanding gap opposes the executive committee and the board. Present already at the time of his appointment, it has been fueled by strategic arbitrations over industrial priorities (RF-SOI, FD-SOI, SmartSiC). This departure crystallizes one reality: the center of gravity of power has shifted. The board has taken control—at the cost of internal misalignment that hints at persistent tensions.

3. Strategic cycle.

The automotive and industrial markets remain sluggish. Technology bets are heavy, capex commitments massive, and key clients demand reassurance. The profile now required will not be a generalist manager: it must be an industrial operator, able to speak to factories as well as investors, and to secure the invisible alliances that condition the scaling of SiC and next-generation substrates.

What HUMINT reveals.

A succession announced three years in advance is not a smooth transition. It is a trusteeship. It reveals the urgency of controlling the narrative, locking in critical talent, and stabilizing clients who know how to read between the lines. It also signals preparation for a future strategic move—partnership, co-investment, capital recomposition—where national and European independence will weigh as much as market performance.

HUMINT conclusion.

In such sequences, the enlightened leader does not watch the official announcement. He tracks the speed of weak signals: who hires a headhunter, who freezes capex, who leaves quietly, who reassures strategic clients. Because true power is never said—it is read in micro-adjustments of behavior, in the way a board seizes the narrative, and in a leader’s ability to stay one step ahead through sharp decryption.

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