Hemlock Semiconductor (HSC), a producer of hyper-pure polysilicon for the semiconductor and solar industries, today announced that Vice President of Process Engineering Roy Furbank has been appointed Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Furbank will continue in his current role in addition to assuming new responsibilities starting April 1. He succeeds CTO Mark Loboda who will retire in October.
As HSC’s principal technology leader, Mark Loboda was responsible for delivering continuous improvement in science, technology and quality. Loboda joined HSC in 2017 and provided a total of 31 years of service to HSC and Dow Corning. His career includes experience as a principal researcher and program leader in roles traversing the electronics supply chain, including circuit design and testing; digital and analog semiconductor devices; thin film technology for semiconductor materials; semiconductor substrate materials and solid-state device fabrication technology.
“Mark’s contributions have been instrumental to our success during a period of tremendous growth, and I am deeply grateful for the passion, intellect and vision he brought to his role every day,” said HSC Chairman and CEO AB Ghosh. “I wish him the best as he and his wife begin the next chapter of their lives.”
In his dual role as VP of Process Engineering and CTO, Roy Furbank will lead strategic planning and innovation that keeps HSC on the leading edge of silicon technology.
“Roy is a visionary leader who will thrive in his new role, helping us drive innovation and taking process and product development to the next level,” Ghosh said. “His strong business acumen, combined with his technical expertise as a chemical engineer, make him a perfect fit to lead technology initiatives, including research and development, across the enterprise.”
“I’m thankful to have the confidence of our leadership team and appreciate the truly extraordinary talents our workforce brings to the table from top to bottom,” Furbank said. “Looking forward, I see tremendous opportunities for continued growth in HSC’s key markets and I’m excited to take on this new role.”
Furbank joined HSC in November 2023, having previously served as Global Process Technology Director for Axalta Coating Systems in Philadelphia, where he led technology initiatives across more than 25 manufacturing sites and laboratories. Prior to Axalta, he was the Global Technology Leader for Dow’s Advanced Polymer Process Technology Center. Before Dow, Furbank also worked at Rohm and Haas in various roles in their coatings business. In addition, he served four years as an active-duty combat engineer officer in the United States Army after undergraduate school.
Furbank holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
