(Bloomberg) -- Few companies are better positioned to benefit from the crippling shortage of computer chips than ASML Holding NV, a Dutch manufacturer whose equipment plays an integral role in making the worlds most advanced semiconductors.

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But four lines tucked halfway into an otherwise upbeat, 281-page annual report from February hinted at a potentially incendiary problem. ASML accused a Beijing-based firm, regarded by Chinese officials as one of the countrys most promising tech ventures, of potentially stealing its trade secrets. Behind the brief disclosure is an extraordinary multiyear tale of intellectual property theft and a broader threat facing the $556 billion semiconductor industry.

In the report, ASML said the Chinese company, Dongfang Jingyuan Electron Ltd., is related to a defunct Silicon Valley firm, Xtal Inc., which ASML sued for intellectual property theft. A 2018 trial in California, which received scant attention at the time, provided more detail. Dongfang and Xtal were essentially the same, created a month apart in 2014 by a former ASML engineer named Zongchang Yu, ASMLs attorney told the court. The two companies worked in tandem toward the same goal: obtaining ASMLs technology and transferring it to China, which is seeking to foster its own semiconductor industry, often at the expense of Western companies, the attorney argued.That technology was secured in sometimes audacious fashion: one engineer was accused of stealing all 2 million lines of source code for critical ASML software and then sharing part of it with Xtal and Dongfang employees in the US and China, according to transcripts of the proceedings.Its not an accident. Its not anything else, Patrick Ryan, ASMLs lead attorney, told the court. But it is a plot to get technology for the Chinese government. Xtal lost and filed for bankruptcy protection. It was ordered to pay $845 million, which ASML deemed uncollectable.ASML declined to comment for this story. A Dongfang representative declined to comment. Yu, 60, who has an outstanding arrest warrant in California on allegations of stealing trade secrets from ASML, couldnt be reached for comment. He now runs Dongfang in Beijing with ample support from the Chinese government, according to company statements and other Chinese documents. The allegations the company made in court and in its annual report reflect the delicate position ASML finds itself in, trying to grow its business in China while pursuing claims of IP theft against a Chinese company.

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China is the worlds largest market for semiconductors. Its electronics factories and growing middle class are vital consumers of chips. Semiconductor companies have struggled for years to balance access to China against concerns the country is seeking to pilfer their intellectual property and overtake them.

For now, China lags in semiconductor manufacturing, leaving its most important industries dependent on technology dominated by foreign companies. Making its own advanced chips is a priority thats complicated by US sanctions that limit access to the latest equipment. Beijing has taken unprecedented steps to clear such hurdles, including launching a $150 billion semiconductor initiative in 2014 to turbocharge domestic production.

China has also encouraged people to steal technology that advances Beijings interests, according to the FBI. China recognizes it needs to make leaps in cutting-edge technologies, FBI Director Christopher Wray said. Instead of engaging in the hard slog of innovation, China often steals American intellectual property and then uses it to compete against the very American companies it victimized.

ASMLs allegations offer a detailed example of what national security authorities describe as Chinas playbook to acquire advanced technology. Its a set of strategies, they say, that depends on inducements from Beijing, theft by well-placed workers, and in at least some cases, a reluctance to complain by corporate victims seeking to preserve or enhance access to the Chinese market.

Taken individually these cases can seem really anecdotal, and some victim companies might say theres not really any master plan, said Anna Puglisi, senior fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University. But take this together with other cases over time and you can see the silentand in some cases not so silenthand of the Chinese government.

Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the allegations malicious hype. Anti-China politicians in the US have been using IP theft topics to tarnish China, the ministry said in a statement. China didnt make its technology achievements by stealing or robbing from others.

Veldhoven, Netherlands-based ASML makes technology thats crucial for manufacturing the fastest, most powerful computer chips. According to research firm Gartner Inc., as of 2021, ASML controlled more than 90% of the $17.1 billion global market for lithography equipment, which is used to shrink and then print patterns of transistors onto silicon wafers that are then sliced into individual chips.

A single machine can be the size of a small house and cost roughly $170 million. That technology is why the companys market capitalization has more than quadrupled in four years, to $284 billion at the end of 2021.

At the center of the litigation is software called optical proximity correction, or OPC. It makes up less than 1% of ASMLs revenue. But without it, lithography machines cant accurately print tiny circuits, according to trial testimony.

If you didnt do any OPC, then the pattern on the chip is totally scummed, testified Yu Cao, an ASML executive who was general manager of the division that develops the software. This would be a chip that doesnt work.

China is developing its own lithography machines, but it could take years to catch up to ASML, if ever, according to Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network, a Pennsylvania-based semiconductor research firm. Mastering OPC software could close some of the gap by allowing Chinese manufacturers to improve those machines and pack more transistors onto chips they produce, he said.

That leap could have implications beyond consumer devices. This is not about making a better smartphone, Castellano said. Its about making weapons that are more sophisticated than they are right now.

The year 2014 was important for Chinas semiconductor ambitions. Thats when the country created its $150 billion fund to jumpstart companies to compete with foreign behemoths.

Its also when Yu started his two companies. Educated in China, he had worked mostly in Japan and the US, including at ASML, which he left in 2012, according to court documents. In January 2014, he incorporated Xtal, based in an office park near San Jose International Airport. A month later, he founded Dongfang, in a government-funded industrial enclave in Beijing.

Yu created the companies at the direction of Jingyuan Han, a member of Chinas economic elite who retains close ties to the Communist Party, Ryan, ASMLs attorney, alleged in court. Han serves as chairman and chief executive officer of China Oriental Group Co., a large steel producer, where his biography lists multiple Communist Party roles.

The goal was to tap into incentive programs while delivering critical technologies for Chinas semiconductor initiative, Ryan alleged.

Despite its industrial-age specialization, China Oriental is a player in the countrys race to become a global technology superpower, often through investments by the company or by Han personally, according to corporate filings and Ryans courtroom arguments. Until 2019, China Oriental, through subsidiaries, owned more than 50% of Dongfang, according to Datenna, a Dutch firm that tracks the ownership of Chinese companies. It has since sold its stake as other investors have come onboard, Datenna said.

Representatives for China Oriental didn't return messages seeking comment.

As trial testimony alleged, Yu recruited engineers from the ASML division where they worked developing OPC software, and the departing employees assured their managers they would be working on unrelated technologies.

But after Song Lan, director of engineering, resigned in August 2015, ASML examined his computer. Investigators found he was working for both companies at the same time and had downloaded ASML files to a hard drive that he took to his new employer, according to a filing by the Dutch company in Xtals bankruptcy proceedings. The company said it found similar violations involving others who left for Xtal.After Xtal began marketing OPC software, ASML sued.

The data taken by Lan, who became Xtals vice president of engineering, included source code for ASMLs OPC software, according to the filing. Lan testified that he took the code inadvertently, while backing up his ASML email to preserve personal data. The code was in a file attached to an email that Lan said he never opened.

ASMLs attorneys said they werent able to learn the full scope of Lans activities. After ASML informed Xtal of its intent to sue, Lan used a wiper program on the hard drive and erased as much as 61 gigabytes of data, according to the filing. Lan didnt address the deletion in his testimony, as Xtals attorneys objected to a question about it.

Another former employee, Wanyu Li, who became Xtals IT director, downloaded the source code for ASMLs OPC softwareall 2 million lines of itto a hard drive, according to testimony from ASML forensic experts. Investigators found evidence that Li used it immediately at Xtal, uploading part of the code to a GitHub server where it was accessible to about 30 engineers with Xtal and Dongfang, according to the testimony.

The judge informed the jury that Li admitted to destroying evidence, breaking the hard drives circuit board into pieces before turning it over to Xtals attorneys on the eve of trial, according to trial transcripts.

Xtals attorney, Donald Putterman, acknowledged that Li stole the source code and damaged the hard drive. There's no sugarcoating with what Wanyu Li did, Putterman told the court. You cant do it. It was wrong. It was illegal. Off the charts.

However, he said no one at Xtal knew that Li had the stolen code. It was never actually used by Xtal, he said. Xtal never made a penny on it.

ASML attorneys referred the case to Santa Clara Countys District Attorneys Office, which filed criminal charges in April 2019 alleging theft of trade secrets against Yu, Li and Lan, according to court documents.

Li, 56, pleaded guilty to a felony charge and Lan, 48, to a misdemeanor charge, both for taking computer data, according to prosecutor Erin West. Li was sentenced to seven months of electronic monitoring, and Lan to 90 days of community service, she said.

Both men, through their attorneys, declined to comment. When authorities went to arrest the three men in May 2019, Yu had left for China, West said.

ASMLs attorneys accused Yu of orchestrating the thefts. Yu was on emails where his employees discussed using the Dutch companys source code to help speed up Xtals software development, according to testimony from ASMLs forensic experts. He also had copies of confidential ASML technical manuals and emailed them to his staff, they testified.

Yu testified that at the time he didnt believe there was a problem using some internal ASML materials to help guide Xtals work.

It is very good reference for our modeling work, Yu wrote in one email.

By using stolen data as a roadmap, Xtal shaved years off the time needed to develop the software, Ryan argued.

In January 2016, Xtal won a $27 million contract with South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co., a longtime ASML customer, to supply OPC software, according to trial testimony. In two years, Yus company had replicated a technology that ASML said it had spent $100 million and 10 years developing.

Xtal didnt have to go down dead ends, because it knew which ones were dead ends, and it knew which ones were the path to glory, the path to speed, the path to development, the path to the money, Ryan told the jury.

Samsung said it doesnt have a current relationship with Xtal or Dongfang. The company pointed to a statement by ASML saying that Samsung wasnt involved in any malicious actions against ASML. The Dutch company didnt lose any business because the work between Samsung and Xtal was thwarted when the theft was discovered, according to the statement.

After ASMLs court victory, a Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad published a report alleging a link between the thefts and China. ASML refuted it and offered a different motive that didnt involve China. The wide speculation about a government-directed conspiracy to steal our IP and trade secrets is therefore just that: wide speculation, ASML said, in an April 2019 press release.

Chief Executive Officer Peter Wennink reiterated that position. The suggestion that we were somehow victim of a national conspiracy is wrong.The facts of the matter are that we were robbed by a handful of our own employees based in Silicon Valley who had broken the law to enrich themselves, he said.

The suggestion that we were somehow victim of a national conspiracy is wrong ASML CEO Peter Wennink

However, months earlier, ASMLs own attorneys had directly linked Yus companies to Chinas technology ambitions. Its consistent with a broader strategy that is being employed the Chinese government, Andrew Winetroub, an ASML attorney, told the court. ASML had evidence, he argued, that Dongfang was receiving funds from the Chinese government and that Xtal is intimately involved.They want to essentially be ASML in China, Ryan, the lead ASML attorney, argued. Stealing our software was a step in the right direction.

ASML sought to introduce evidence that its lawyers said would support those claims. Putterman, Xtals attorney, argued that it amounted to repetitive efforts to back-door prejudicial intonation about China. The judge instructed ASML to focus on allegations limited to the US company, Xtal.

ASMLs case highlights the complications many Western companies face dealing with China.

China is ASMLs third-biggest market. Since 2019, the Dutch government has prevented the company from selling its most advanced lithography equipment there because the chips the equipment makes have potential military uses. ASML has opposed the restrictions.

Nick Eftimiades, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said China put ASML in an extraordinarily awkward position.

This isnt the first time that a companys been stolen from and refused to make it a big issue publicly, said Eftimiades, a former US Department of Defense official who tracks Chinese IP theft and espionage cases. Many companies go to extraordinary lengths to keep these events from being known to the public, stockholders and investors."

For Yu, Xtals troubles did little to slow Dongfangs ascent.

In 2015, Dongfang signed a research agreement with the Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the governments semiconductor research center, according to Chinese documents. There, Yu caught the attention of Tianchun Ye, the institutes director and the chief scientist directing Chinas chip equipment development. Dongfang and the institute created a joint venture for chip technology development. Since then, Dongfang has won repeated honors and praise from the Chinese government.

Despite losing the Xtal case, Chinese authorities granted Dongfang a wide-ranging patent in 2019 that includes OPC software. Last year, Dongfang announced that it was named a little giant by Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, a designation often followed by significant new investment and expectations of rapid growth.

Since returning to Beijing, Yu has raised millions of dollars while being courted by Chinese officials. He appeared on the reviewing stand for a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of Chinas foundingan invitation-only affair reserved for elites.

A 2020 book of interviews with Chinese tech entrepreneurs portrayed Yu as a flagbearer for semiconductor development. He told the authors one of his biggest dreams was to help China create its own OPC softwareand break the foreign monopoly.

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Engineer Who Fled Charges of Stealing Chip Technology in US Now Thrives in China - Yahoo Finance

Notable appointments this month include Joanne Conway's appointment as FM Conway chair, along with changes at the top of WSP, Mace and Laing O'Rourke.

A round up of the biggest moves and appointments during May is below. To feature on next months appointments roundup email catherine.kennedy@emap.com

Joanne Conway to succeed her late father as FM Conway chair

FM Conway has announced that Joanne Conway will succeed her late father and become company chair. She has taken over the family firm, following the death of her father and former chairman, Michael Conway, who died from illness in March.

Her appointment makes the Kent-based firm a third-generation business. It was founded by her grandfather 60 years ago.

For the past 11 years, Joanne Conway has been the board director. She has held other managerial positions at the firm, including managing director for the manufacturing of aggregates & asphalt.

WSP appoints Stantec boss as managing director

WSP has appointed Paul Reilly as the new managing director for its Planning & Advisory (P&A) business.

Reilly joins WSP from Stantec where he has been managing director of the firms UK & Ireland Infrastructure & Buildings business since January 2020. He was also chair of the Association of Consultancy & Engineering in 2020.

He will now be leading WSPs 2,400-person P&A business which supports clients through a broad array of specialisms, including earth & environment, planning, project & commercial services and transport planning.

Former Anglo American boss joins Laing O'Rourke

Laing ORourke has appointed former Anglo American chief executive Mark Cutifani as senior independent director.

Cutifani joins the Laing ORourke board in September a non-executive capacity as it prepares for a stock market flotation. He also chairs the boards sustainability committee.

Cutifani stepped down in April as chief executive and an executive director of Anglo American after nine years leading the global mining giant.

New appointments for Mace

Mace has appointed a new responsible business lead. James Low, who currently oversees the companys world-wide responsible business service offer for consultancy and facilities management, will take over as global head of responsible business.

Low, who has been with Mace for eight years, has been instrumental in the companys drive to reduce industry carbon emissions. He played a key role in the development of Maces net zero carbon strategy, Steps without Footprints, and has led a strong period of growth for the consultancy business.

Mace has also announced the appointment of Rachel ODonnell as consult lead for retrofit. The appointment reflects Maces commitment to tackle the climate emergency and the building safety crisis as it supports clients pursue a more sustainable world. ODonnell will lead Mace Consults retrofit new business function and direct its growth strategy, working with the business sectors and practice groups.

She joins Mace from Aecom, where she played a significant part in the environment team as business unit director for the ground, energy and transactions division, comprising half of the UK and Ireland environment business. She has over 17 years experience in managing and delivering large programmes across the environmental, nuclear, defence and industrial sectors.

Faithful+Gould expands social value offering

Faithful+Gould has launched a new advisory service aimed at helping clients develop clear social value programmes on built environment projects, and crucially, ensuring delivery of those commitments.

In order to roll out the service the firm has invested in the expansion of its social value team, establishing regional leads in each of the key areas of the UK to liaise with clients and support their social value commitments. The firm has made three new appointments - Ilaria Agueci, Dan Heffernan and Sarah Lambshead all bringing extensive experience and skills to the team.

Lambshead has 15 years experience working within the built environment, most recently as a consultant on social value, helping businesses understand the social challenges they have the solutions for.

Heffernans experience is within corporate social responsibility project management and economic development, where hes demonstrated a passion for helping businesses and investors make a positive social impact to local communities.

Aguecis previous role at Hammersmith and Fulham Council involved embedding social value into the procurement and internal governance processes, as well as liaising with suppliers and internal departments to identify social value activities linked to local needs.

New director for Turner & Townsend

Turner & Townsend has appointed James Hardy as a director in its UK Advisory team as the business eyes further growth in its sustainability offer.

Hardy was previously head of climate change and energy at the Greater London Authority (GLA) where he has helped drive the capitals efforts on net-zero and fuel poverty alleviation over the last eight years. Under his leadership, the GLA team implemented many of the citys major sustainability programmes, including the Mayors Retrofit Accelerators, Warmer Homes, Solar Together London, London Power and the London Community Energy Fund.

He will support the expansion of Turner & Townsends sustainability team as it meets growing demand from clients shaping strategies to support net zero goals.

Tilbury Douglas appoints BIM boss

Tilbury Douglas has appointed William Barry as head of building information modelling (BIM).

Barry started out as an apprentice electrician 10 years ago. Since then, he has racked up experience of mechanical & electrical installation, project management and architectural technology. Three years ago he joined what was then Interserve and is now Tilbury Douglas.

Mace director joins Taylor Wimpey board

Mark Castle, former chief operating officer and current non-executive director of Mace, has joined the board of house-builder Taylor Wimpey as a non-executive director.

Castle stood down as chief operating officer of Mace last year but remains on the executive board as a non-executive director. He is also a non-executive director of AIM-listed Eleco and non-executive chairman of Triangle Group, a private equity backed fire safety business.

Before joining Mace he used to work for Structuretone and Wates. He was also chair of Build UK from 2017 to 2019.

Top (from left): Joanne Conway, James Hardy, James Low, Anna MascoloBottom (from left): Simon Cole, Rachel O'Donnell, Paul Reilly, David Eve

Motts chair appointed to World Economic Forum

Mike Haigh, executive chair of Mott MacDonald, has been appointed the new chair of the World Economic Forums influential Infrastructure Industries Governors Group. Haigh succeeds Steve Demetriou, chair and chief executive of Jacobs Engineering Group, who has performed the role for the past two years.

This community of chief executives and chairs from across the industry seeks to drive change through better public and private sector collaboration. During the pandemic the community met regularly to address the challenges resulting from Covid-19.

MPA chooses new chief executive

The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has named Jon Prichard as its next chief executive.

Prichard joins the MPA from Institution of Chemical Engineers, where he has been chief executive since 2017.

He is a chartered civil engineer. After 19 years in the Royal Engineers, he joined consulting engineer High-Point Rendel in 2007 and in 2010 took over as chief executive of the Engineering Council.

Former HS2 Align JV boss joins new company

David Eve has been appointed as development director and chairman of the board for Queenswood Engagement and Strategy, a fast growing company which predominantly provides community engagement, stakeholder management and project management services.

Eve will be responsible for developing and delivering the business strategy with a clear mission of making projects better for people. He joins Queenswood from Bouygues Travaux Publics where he was part of the senior management team in the Align JV as head of engagement and compliance on HS2 Phase 1.

He has 20 years experience as a chartered civil engineer and qualified project manager having worked for Parsons Brinkerhoff/WSP for 13 years and Bouygues for 7 years where prior to joining the HS2 project he was business development manager for the UK.

Rolls-Royce SMR bolsters leadership

Rolls-Royce SMR has announced the appointment of Anna Mascolo as a non-executive director of its board.

She will take up this new role on 1 June 2022 and will become the first non-executive member of the Board, which is currently made up of representatives from its shareholders: Rolls-Royce Group, BNF Resources UK, Constellation Energy (formerly Exelon Generation) and the Qatar Investment Authority.

Mascolo was recently appointed executive vice president, emerging energy solutions at Shell, and has world-leading expertise and experience in the energy sector.

New chair for Heart of England Community Rail Partnership

The Heart of England Community Rail Partnership has appointed West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) director Malcolm Holmes as chair.

Holmes has 30 years experience in the railway sector and held senior posts at Chiltern Railways and LOROL and has been executive director at WMRE for the past five years.

Former Aecom boss joins Hydrock

Engineering, energy and sustainability consultancy Hydrock has announced the appointment of Cardiff-based Simon Cole as technical director, providing national support to Hydrocks environmental and geotechnical designers and consultants.

Cole joins Hydrock from a 20-year role at Aecom where he was technical director and UKI practice lead for remediation services. With a PhD in Environmental Engineering, his 23-year career has given him vast multidisciplinary experience in sectors such as oil and gas, nuclear, manufacturing, environmental regulation and brownfield redevelopment. In keeping with his career focus on environmental risk assessment, he is current chair of the Society of Brownfield Risk Assessment.

Murphy Geospatial announces promotions

Murphy Geospatial has promoted three key members of its team to senior levels in a strategic move to continue expanding its capability and reach.

The promotions of Andy Masters, Maciej Targosz and Ricardo Oliveira reflect its drive for innovation and to build world-class monitoring and data processing services while rewarding their commitment and hard work.

Masters becomes an associate director, responsible for all monitoring operations and helping the international expansion, while remaining the divisions head of department and overseeing its 40-strong team.

Also promoted to associate director is Targosz, who will lead the increased focus on data operations. He will be in charge of the new data processing team, further enhancing the companys capability to deliver outstanding data assets post-capture. He also retains responsibility for the survey department in Kilcullen, Ireland, overseeing a team of 50 across the two divisions.

Completing the trio of promotions is chief technology officer Oliveira, who becomes the associate director of innovation. He will continue to lead the thriving innovation hub, ensuring the firm remains at the cutting edge of technologies that deliver increased value for customers.

New director for Red Construction Group

Red Construction Group has announced the appointment of James Bardwell as business development director, overseeing business opportunities across Red Construction London.

Over the course of his career, Bardwell has been responsible for complex projects across multiple sectors including commercial, retail, residential and education, delivering schemes from 15M through to 200M. With a particular proficiency in projects with challenging structural alterations, Bardwell has helped deliver iconic schemes such as Londons Olympic Village, Phillips Auction House in the heart of Mayfair, and New Law Court at the University of Hertfordshire. He also spent five years working on residential developments, from smaller schemes to those with over 500 units.

New hires for Black and White Engineering

Black and White Engineering has announced the appointment of Scott Wilson as UK and Europe regional head of sustainability, three technical directors, Charlie Bater, Karl Snowball and Grant Dalgleish, who were previously associate directors, and two new associate directors, Jonathan Robinson-Hoare and Craig England, who step up from principal engineer roles.

In the last 12 months, the consultancy has grown its UK and Europe headcount by 83%, and now employs a number of specialists across the UK with offices in Newcastle, Edinburgh and London.

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Movers and shakers: Biggest construction and engineering appointments in May 2022 - New Civil Engineer

Autodesk is providing engineering graduates with a leg up into the working world of manufacturing through the launch of its First Step in Your Career initiative. Initially launched in Turkey in 2021, this skills training programme is now available in South Africa.

Murat Tzm, Autodesk's head of manufacturing industry EMEA emerging

Murat Tzm: This programme includes soft skill training such as CV preparation and interview techniques as well as hands-on software training. There are also webinars with industry experts (such as Cindy Norcott and Richard Hansen), advice on dos and donts during the job search process, and 1:1 mentorship. The programme is aimed at recent engineering graduates who have not found a job yet. Programme details and eligibility criteria as well as application details can be found at http://www.autodesk.co.za/first-step-in-your-career-program.

Registration for the programme opened last week and will close on 24 June 2022.

Tzm: Youth unemployment is a chronic problem in emerging countries, and yet companies are saying theyre not finding the relevant skills for their open positions. Millions are looking for work, millions are looking for employees but theres a gap between the two. This initiative will help young graduates upskill themselves for what employers are wanting.

Tzm: Communication, collaborative working and adaptive skills.

Tzm: The world is changing rapidly and the manufacturing industry is too. Technology is playing a large role in this industry and as such, female engineers are just as suited to mastering the software as their male counterparts. During our programme, graduates will be exposed to Autodesks next generation CAD, CAM platform, Fusion 360.

Tzm: There are eligibility criteria for the programme. We are looking for engineering graduates who graduated anytime from 2019 to 2022 and have an interest in innovative technology and are ready to close the gap between their skills and their dream job. A design software background is essential for the technical training aspect.

Tzm: We first launched in 2021 in Turkey and 100+ engineering graduates completed the programme. Feedback from participants, project partners and candidates was very encouraging. Some graduates have already been placed in permanent positions. Overall, the graduates felt more confident in tackling their next job interview and Ive no doubt theyre one step closer to landing their dream job.

Tzm: Under Autodesks future of manufacturing vision, we are helping manufacturing companies embrace digital technologies to make better products and generate greater value. Technology has a critical role to play but needs people to ensure success. Todays graduate engineers are crucial for the future of engineering and investing in them is investing in the future. We are working to expand this programme in other emerging countries.

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Autodesk offers unemployed engineering grads the first step toward their career - Bizcommunity.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) has named Steven Martin vice president, Infrastructure Engineering, IT Operations & Support, effective May 30. He reports to Therace Risch, executive vice president and chief information & technology officer.

Martin is responsible for the technology planning and delivery for infrastructure technologies including compute, network, storage and end-user tools. He also oversees technology operations and support.

"AEP continues to transform the way our employees work and implement new technologies to streamline our business, while enhancing the customer experience," Risch said. "Steven's focus on providing reliable, cost-effective, and an easy user experience, as well as his deep expertise in operations and infrastructure engineering, make him a valuable addition to our team. We welcome his leadership and insights as we deliver technology solutions that support AEP's efforts to provide clean, reliable and affordable energy."

Martin joins AEP from JCPenney, where he was vice president of Technology Enterprise Services and led information technology infrastructure, operations, support, and cyber functions and carried the dual role of managing director, JCPenney Services India. Prior to JCPenney, he served as senior director of the Technology Operations Center and senior director of Application Support for Target Corp. Martin also worked at Dell for nearly 13 years in roles of increasing responsibility. He received his bachelor's degree in management information systems from Texas Tech University.

American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is powering a cleaner, brighter energy future for its customers and communities. AEP's approximately 16,700 employees operate and maintain the nation's largest electricity transmission system and more than 224,000 miles of distribution lines to safely deliver reliable and affordable power to 5.5 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation's largest electricity producers with approximately 31,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including more than 7,100 megawatts of renewable energy. The company's plans include growing its renewable generation portfolio to approximately 50% of total capacity by 2030. AEP is on track to reach an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 2000 levels by 2030 and has committed to achieving net zero by 2050. AEP is recognized consistently for its focus on sustainability, community engagement, and diversity, equity and inclusion. AEP's family of companies includes utilities AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana, east Texas and the Texas Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, which provides innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide. For more information, visit aep.com.

SOURCE American Electric Power

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AEP NAMES MARTIN VICE PRESIDENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, IT OPERATIONS AND SUPPORT - PR Newswire