ON Semiconductor Corp. of Phoenix, a provider of power semiconductor devices for the electronics, automotive and industrial markets, yesterday announced the appointment of industry veteran W. John Nelson, PhD, as executive vice president and COO, replacing the retiring Bill George. Most recently, Nelson was CEO of 1st Silicon. From 1990-2002, he served in several executive positions, including COO of General Semiconductor and president of General Semiconductor's Asia-Pacific operation. Prior to leading General Semiconductor Taiwan's divestiture from General Instruments, Nelson was president of General Instruments, Taiwan, and also served as vice president and general manager of the company's power semiconductor division. He has also been wafer fabrication operations manager at Unitrode and Fairchild Semiconductor and served in various wafer fabrication engineering posts at Analog Devices.