Directorate Change

IQE PLC
09 January 2007

9 January 2007



IQE plc



Director Appointment



The Board of IQE ('the Group', AIM: IQE), the leading global outsource supplier
of customised wafer products and outsource wafer services to the semiconductor
industry, is pleased to announce the appointment of Phil Rasmussen as Group
Finance Director with effect from March 2007.  Phil, age 36, is currently a
Director of Transaction Services with PwC in Bristol and will take up the
position vacated by Stuart Hall.  Stuart has decided to return to the North of
England with his family, where he was based prior to joining IQE, and take up a
further senior finance role.



Phil qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the audit practice of Coopers and
Lybrand, a predecessor firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ('PwC'). During his
career with PwC he spent two years in Toronto, Canada and has gained significant
experience of working with and advising a broad range of companies in a variety
of sectors, including multinational main market and AIM listed companies. Phil
holds a first class honours degree in Mathematics gained from Cardiff
University.



Further details as required under Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules are contained
in Appendix One to this announcement.



Dr. Godfrey Ainsworth, Chairman of IQE said:



'We have worked with Phil on a number of transactions and he joins IQE with an
excellent understanding of our outsource business model and its potential.
Although we are sorry to lose Stuart, who returns with his family to take up an
appointment in the North of England, Phil will start with an already very strong
level of operational knowledge of IQE and will make an immediate and substantial
contribution to the management of the Group.'



Dr. Drew Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of IQE said:



'We are delighted to welcome Phil to our team. He joins us at an exciting time
following the recent acquisitions of EMD and MBET, and having been intimately
involved in both, he knows IQE's business first hand.  We have been very
impressed by the quality of his work.



'On behalf of the Board and staff of IQE, I would also like to extend my thanks
to Stuart who has played a key role in helping shape the business to ensure that
the Group is firmly in line for sustainable profitability during the coming
months and years.'



IQE will report its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2006 at
the end of March 2007.





Enquiries:

IQE plc  www.iqep.com.                                                             [phone]
    Godfrey Ainsworth, Chairman
    Dr Drew Nelson, Chief Executive
    Chris Meadows, Investor Relations

Noble & Company Limited                                                            [phone]
    John Llewellyn-Lloyd/Sam Reynolds



College Hill
    Adrian Duffield/Ben Way                                                        [phone]




Note to Editors



IQE is a global leader in the manufacture of complex wafer products and
outsourced foundry services to the semiconductor industry.  IQE uses advanced
crystal growth technology (epitaxy) to manufacture and supply bespoke
semiconductor wafers ('epi-wafers') to the major chip manufacturing companies,
who then use these wafers to make the chips which form the key components of
virtually all high technology systems.  IQE is unique in being able to supply
wafers using all of the leading crystal growth technology platforms.



IQE's products are found in many leading edge consumer, communication, computing
and industrial applications, including a complete range of wafer products for
the wireless industry, including mobile handsets and wireless infrastructure,
WiFi, WiMAX, base stations, GPS, and satellite communications; optical
communications, optical storage (CD, DVD), laser optical mouse, laser printers &
photocopiers, thermal imagers, leading edge medical products, barcode, high
efficiency LEDs and a variety of advanced silicon based systems.



IQE is also a leading global outsource supplier of advanced semiconductor
wafers, with products that cover the whole spectrum of wafer structures,
supported by an innovative outsourced services portfolio that allows the Group
to provide a 'one stop shop' for the wafer needs of the world's leading
semiconductor manufacturers.



These manufacturers are increasingly seeking to outsource wafer production to
specialist foundries such as IQE, in order to reduce overall wafer costs and
accelerate time to market.



IQE provides bespoke R&D services to deliver customised materials for specific
applications and offers specialist technical staff to manufacture to
specification either at its own facilities or on the customer's own sites.  The
Group is also able to leverage its global purchasing volumes to reduce the cost
of raw materials.  In this way IQE's outsourced services provide compelling
benefits in terms of flexibility and predictability of cost, thereby
significantly reducing operating risk.



IQE employs around 320 people and operate six manufacturing facilities located
in Cardiff (two) and Milton Keynes in the UK, and in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and
Somerset, New Jersey in the USA, and Singapore.  The Group also has nine sales
offices located in major economic centres worldwide.



Appendix One



In accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules, the following information in
relation to the appointment of Mr Phil Rasmussen to the Board of IQE, is
disclosed below:



Mr Rasmussen has no current directorships and partnerships.  Mr Rasmussen has no
past directorships and partnerships in the preceding five years. There are no
further disclosures to be made in accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM
Rules.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange