In a July 3, 2024 interview with EE Times, onsemi CEO Hassane El-Khoury described engineering problem-solving, collaboration and attention to manufacturing energy as foundations of his leadership. He also explained how taking on difficult company problems shaped his career—and how time with family, electronics projects and racing help him recharge.
From engineering to executive leadership
El-Khoury’s path to the CEO role began in engineering. Onsemi’s biography says he started as a senior design engineer at Continental Automotive Systems, then spent 13 years at Cypress Semiconductor in roles spanning business-unit management, product development, applications engineering and business development. He led Cypress until its sale to Infineon in April 2020. Onsemi appointed him president and CEO in December 2020, according to the company’s leadership biography.
In the interview, El-Khoury put his professional identity plainly: “I am an engineer, more than a CEO or a manager. That helped with how I think about things,” he said. His account links that mindset to breaking problems into parts, understanding how teams and decisions depend on one another, and using the best available data rather than relying on instinct alone.
He described career progress as following meaningful problems, not chasing a title. Taking responsibility for difficult work can create opportunities to learn and demonstrate judgment; calculated risks may be part of that process. The interview does not present a formula or guarantee that this approach leads to promotion. It offers his account of how he navigated his own career.
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Leadership depends on teams and transparent communication
El-Khoury’s view of leadership is collaborative. A CEO may make consequential decisions, but the work depends on an executive team, clear communication and the ability to bring different perspectives to a problem. His emphasis on understanding dependencies across teams also suggests that decisions made in one area can affect people and outcomes elsewhere.
For aspiring leaders, the practical takeaway is not simply to become more decisive. It is to build enough understanding to ask informed questions, share relevant information and make choices with input from the people closest to the work.
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Sustainability starts with manufacturing energy
El-Khoury’s sustainability argument begins with operational efficiency. In the interview, he said: “If we reduce our energy consumption in manufacturing through abatement strategies, then our manufacturing costs get cheaper, and we get more competitive.” In his framing, lowering manufacturing energy use can serve both environmental and business goals.
That is a business rationale, not a quantified result. The interview supplies no measured emissions reduction or independent assessment of the impact of the approach. Separately, onsemi’s 2024 Sustainability Report states that the company is committed to net-zero emissions by 2040 and that the Science Based Targets initiative validated its near-term emissions reduction targets in December 2024. Those are company-reported commitments and target validation, not evidence that the company has already achieved a particular reduction.
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How he makes time for life beyond work
El-Khoury said he tries to be fully attentive with his family when he is with them. “That is how I strike the balance. It recharges me,” he said. He also mentioned hands-on electronics projects, including smart-home systems, and racing as personal interests. These details describe how he spends time away from work; they are not product recommendations or a claim that everyone needs the same outlets.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Onsemi’s later business context
The interview reflects what El-Khoury said in July 2024. Onsemi’s subsequent announcements provide a dated snapshot of the company, not additional comments from that conversation. In its August 3, 2026 second-quarter release, onsemi reported revenue of $1.604 billion, up 9% year over year, and said demand was strengthening, particularly across AI-driven applications. These are company-reported figures and market commentary.
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On September 16, 2026, onsemi described a strategy focused on power and sensing for AI, electrification and automation. El-Khoury identified power density as a key engineering challenge as those markets scale. This later strategy statement should be read separately from the 2024 interview, whose emphasis was on career, leadership, sustainability and personal life.
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