New Infineon chairman Eder to start in August

A close-up of a the Infineon microcontroller kit XMC 4700 at an exhibition during the semiconductor manufacturer Infineon's annual shareholder meeting in Munich, Germany February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Andreas Gebert

MUNICH (Reuters) - German chipmaker Infineon Technologies aims to bring in outgoing Voestalpine Chief Executive Wolfgang Eder as its chairman in August, replacing Eckart Suenner earlier than expected. Eder, who was elected to the Infineon supervisory board last year with a view of taking over as chair in the medium term, is stepping down as Voestalpine CEO in July. However, he will remain on the Austrian steelmaker's supervisory board and is expected to take chairmanship of the company in about two years. His nomination as Infineon chairman in addition to those roles had triggered investor concern about his accumulation of offices. The chipmaker also hopes to conclude its search for a new Chief Financial Officer quickly, putting a focus on female candidates, Suenner said at the company's shareholder meeting on Thursday. Current finance head Dominik Asam is leaving to join aircraft manufacturer Airbus in April. Earlier this month, Infineon cut its forecast for full-year revenue growth, blaming difficult markets, but said it expects a better second half as demand rebounds and inventories are worked off. "The boom is over. We are now in a phase of moderate growth", chief executive Reinhard Ploss told shareholders. (Reporting by Alexander Hübner; Writing by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Jan Harvey)