Christophe Frey

Christophe Frey is a senior semiconductor executive, board member, and advisor with over 30 years of international experience spanning advanced IC design, memory technologies, compute platforms, and European technology policy. His career bridges deep hands-on engineering leadership with high-level strategic engagement with public authorities, making him a trusted figure at the intersection of technology, industry, and policy.

Christophe built the foundations of his career at STMicroelectronics, where he spent more than a decade in advanced design and manufacturing R&D within the Crolles2 alliance. He held key roles in embedded memory and MRAM development, leading multi-company, multi-site programs across Europe, India and the United States. His work covered architecture, design flows, silicon validation, and technology enablement for advanced CMOS nodes, contributing to industry-leading SRAM, MRAM, and low-power logic innovations.

In 2026, Christophe joins SOISIC, rapidly acquired by Arm and went on to hold a series of senior leadership roles over nearly two decades. As Director of Engineering and later Vice President of Engineering Operations for ARM’s Physical Design Group, he led large international teams responsible for standard cells, memory compilers, physical IP, design enablement, and silicon validation, managing divisional budgets exceeding $50M and supporting leading-edge compute platforms worldwide.

From 2015 to 2025, Christophe served as Managing Director of ARM France and later ARM Germany, overseeing major European design centers and scaling teams to more than 500 employees. From 2023 to 2026, as Vice President of EU Engagements at ARM, he has led strategic interactions with European institutions, member states, and industry bodies, shaping policy discussions around semiconductors, compute sovereignty, and the European Chips Act.

In parallel, Christophe is an active ecosystem leader and advisor, serving on the SEMI Europe Advisory Board, acting as Operating Partner at C4 Ventures, Chairman of the Board of Vertical Compute, and advisor to emerging deeptech startups. He is a frequent keynote speaker at major industry forums and the author of numerous patents and technical publications.

Christophe holds a Master’s degree in Electronics Engineering from INPG–PHELMA, executive education from Cambridge Judge Business School, and formal training in European lobbying and public affairs from Sciences Po Paris, combining deep technical expertise with strategic, institutional, and geopolitical insight.