Partnering for Maximum Impact: An Interview with Paul Wheeler

Paul Wheeler joined Wolfspeed in 2018 and has over 30 years of experience in the semiconductor field across a broad range of technologies, including Digital Signal Processing, Mixed Signal Analog and Power. Prior to joining Wolfspeed, Paul held various strategic leadership roles for companies including Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Mitsubishi Electric and more. He received his BEng from Queens University Belfast and his MEng from Nagoya University in Japan 

Powerful Perspectives: Can you talk a little bit about how you help to drive better partnerships in your role? 

Wheeler: Sure. Wolfspeed’s revolutionary silicon carbide technology is enabling a new class of automotive and industrial applications. But creating a brand-new class of products using innovative technologies has its challenges. That’s why our team’s charter is to collaborate with our customers and partners as closely as possible. Often this includes the personal commitment to working onsite with them to grapple with real-world challenges and expedite them as quickly as possible.

Without this real-time, in-person collaboration you can burn weeks or months scheduling calls, trying to understand the problem, gathering the right experts, prioritizing actions, and figuring out a solution. We can’t possibly get the results our customers need by going through the motions on conference calls every two weeks. And it’s amazing how much faster we can solve technical problems when we are sitting in the same room with a whiteboard.

By combining our in-depth silicon carbide expertise with our partner’s system knowledge and ultimate vision, we can come up with novel solutions, which ultimately means faster design cycles and better products.

Powerful Perspectives: A 2024 KPMG report notes that as much as executives expect technology to have a major impact on their operations, less than a third feel they are actually ready for change. How can companies make better use of technology partnerships in today’s environment?

Wheeler: The first thing I’d say is, achieving an effective partnership starts with developing a shared vision and the desire for mutual success. For the partnership to work, it must be about solving real world pain points, and these pain points must be relevant for both partners.  

To drive change, the goals of any collaboration must be well understood and articulated. Clear ownership and leadership are essential, for instance. So having a management structure that can maneuver and resolve these challenges is a must.

Finally, the collaboration must be able to pivot and adapt to changing technical and business needs. It really comes down to execution, to making it real. What problem are we trying to solve and how will our companies come together to solve that problem? To me, that’s when you find out whether the partnership is for real. 

Powerful Perspectives: What should a company look for in a silicon carbide partner, and what is the impact of having a partner with 200mm capabilities?  

Wheeler: If you’re hoping to partner with a silicon carbide company, I would prioritize proven expertise, state-of-the-art capabilities and a willingness to push the boundaries of what’s possible to help customers achieve their goals. 

If I turn the lens on Wolfspeed we have a nearly 40-year legacy of pioneering and continuing to the evolution of silicon carbide technology.  No other company comes close to this level of learning cycles and the resulting expertise.

In terms of capabilities, our vertically integrated 200mm manufacturing technology is setting a new standard for improving yields and lower costs for our partners. This is a big deal.

Announcing that you have a fab is one thing but really doing the work to figure out how to make it efficient, scalable and produce the highest-quality, 200 mm silicon carbide wafers is not trivial. There are hundreds of process steps, and each one must be well controlled to have a repeatable product. The amount of learning that goes into that is enormous.

Also, Wolfspeed is the only U.S.-based vertically integrated silicon carbide company, so we have expertise in material, discrete, die and modules.

In terms of willingness, at Wolfspeed, we are on a never-ending journey to improve and push the boundaries of excellence to deliver high-quality and reliable products to our customers. We are continually striving to improve and innovate. Our fully-automated facilities exemplify this commitment to quality, ensuring precision and consistency in every product we create.

Powerful Perspectives: Why is vertical integration across your manufacturing and product roadmap important?  

 Wheeler: For a couple of reasons. If one company manufactures wafers, discrete components, dies, that gives you complete control of your supply chain.  

Owning the entire silicon carbide production process is very important for us at Wolfspeed. We have deep knowledge in every step. That pays dividends as you move up from a wafer to a die to a module because you always know what’s going on. 

Recently we met with a partner to discuss how we would produce a type of module they may want in their next-generation product. But they also wanted to know more about our die technology – both current technology as well as our roadmap for it. Understanding Wolfspeed's product roadmap allows customers to anticipate and align with our advancements, enabling them to grow and evolve their platforms in tandem with our innovative developments. This symbiotic relationship ensures that both Wolfspeed and our customers are always at the forefront of progress. 

It’s important to put yourself in your partner’s shoes at moments like this. They’re curious about the manufacturing process because they want to ensure that, even 10 or 15 years down the line, production remains consistent and every part is repeatable. 

Powerful Perspectives: Where might companies come up short if they make the wrong choice of a partner? What does that typically look like? 

 Wheeler: If you don’t have the right partner, leadership, or organization structure for the partnership, the aspirations you have for a powerful collaboration can easily take a back seat to other priorities. And if you don’t secure the resources and build momentum, joint projects slow down and eventually sputter.  

There will always be things that you’re not expecting as you start a project. We embrace unexpected challenges as opportunities to innovate, exceed expectations, and push boundaries. That’s why we’ve really dedicated resources to our partnerships. Having that dedication plus the organizational structure to support them is an essential part of what it takes for the partnership to work.