US semiconductor services business Lam Research has named Ava Harter as its new chief legal officer, filling the seat left vacant by Ava Hahn earlier this year.

Harter joins from home appliance-maker Whirlpool Corporation, where she was also CLO. At Lam Research, she will oversee the company’s legal function and government and regulatory affairs. She will also join its executive leadership team and report directly to CEO Tim Archer. 

Fremont, California-based Lam Research supplies water fabrication equipment and services to the global semiconductor industry, allowing its customers to build smaller and more advanced computer chips.

Archer said: “Having led large legal organisations at two Fortune 500 companies, Ava brings to Lam significant experience in developing legal strategy and building world-class teams. Her expertise will be a valuable addition to Lam as we continue [to] focus on delivering breakthroughs to enable the next-generation [of] semiconductors in the era of AI.”

Harter spent just under four years at Whirlpool, having previously worked at roofing and insulation materials company Owens Corning as general counsel and corporate secretary for more than five years. She also held in-house roles at GE Aviation and Accenture joint venture Taleris (as GC and chief compliance officer), GE Aviation (as GC of its GE Avionics business) and chemicals producer Dow Chemical (as corporate and commercial counsel).

She started her legal career as a law clerk in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office before becoming an associate at Thompson Hine and later a senior associate at Jones Day.


She said: “As the criticality of semiconductors increases, the importance of Lam’s technologies continues to accelerate. I look forward to working closely with our legal team to advance and protect Lam innovation as we ethically and responsibly serve our customers around the world.”

Hahn, meantime, departed Lam Research in January after four years to join US semiconductor giant Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) as GC, which makes chips for computers and games consoles, including the Sony Playstation and Microsoft’s Xbox.

In other recent US tech moves, in May Elon Musk’s AI start-up xAI hired former Airbus innovation centre GC Robert Keele as its first legal chief. And in April, IT giant IBM hired Vanguard GC Anne Robinson as its new CLO.