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[News] Western Digital’s NAND Flash Division Head to Step Down in Early 2025 ahead of Spin-off
Ahead of Western Digital’s upcoming spin-off, a major personnel shake-up has already taken place, as the memory giant’s Executive Vice President and General Manager, Robert Soderbery, who leads the NAND and SSD business unit, will step down on January 2, according to a report from Blocks and Files.
The report explains that Western Digital currently oversees two main divisions, the hard disk drives (HDD) and flash. Notably, the flash division includes its NAND joint venture with Japanese NAND giant Kioxia, as well as WD’s SSD production and sales.
Personnel Shake-up Already Took Place
The HDD division was led by EVP and GM Ashley Gorakhpurwalla, while Soderbery oversaw the flash business, with both executives reporting to CEO David Goeckeler, as noted by the report.
However, both of the aforementioned figures have announced their exit. As per Blocks and Files, Gorakhpurwalla left Western Digital in October to become head of Lenovo’s Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG).
Citing remarks from an analyst, the report notes that Soderbery’s leave would be disappointing for Western Digital and its NAND business (SanDisk), adding that he was a key executive who seemed poised to lead SanDisk after the split.
As Western Digital prepares to split into two independent businesses, CEO David Goeckeler announced he would lead the HDD division, while Irving Tan, EVP of global operations, would take over as CEO of the flash business, the report notes.
According to EETimes China and Blocks and Files, the goal of spinning off WDC’s NAND and SSD business would be to enhance operational efficiency within each unit, allowing them to concentrate on their core strengths and ultimately achieve greater market value. Analysts cited by the reports suggested that the standalone value of WD’s NAND and SSD business could range from USD 10 billion to 22 billion.
Different Developing Strategies between SanDisk and Kioxia
According to TrendForce, following the spin-off, WDC’s NAND business (SanDisk) will be required to operate independently. Despite the separation, SanDisk must continue to honor the existing agreement between WDC and Kioxia, which includes joint investments to support technology migration within their shared venture.
Unlike Kioxia, which aims to ramp up production of 218-layer NAND in 2025, SanDisk remains focused on optimizing its 112-layer and 162-layer production to maximize revenue, TrendForce adds.
According to a previous report from Reuters, Kioxia will debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange through an IPO on December 18. The Japanese NAND giant has set its IPO price at 1,455 yen per share, giving the company a valuation of 784 billion yen (approximately USD 6.6 billion).
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(Photo credit: Western Digital)
