SAN JOSE -- Flextronics has promoted Murad Kurwa to vice president of engineering – worldwide operations.

He effectively replaces Dongkai Shangguan, who is leaving the company this month.

Like Shangguan, Kurwa came to EMS by way of the automotive industry, getting his start in the mid 1980s with Firestone, before moving to Raychem. He spent a year as director of engineering at Manufacturers Services Ltd., before joining Flextronics in 1988 as director of engineering.

The reconfiguring came about last November, after an internal restructuring combined the company's Advanced Technology and GOES groups into a single unit called the Advanced Electronics Group.

Shangguan has been with Flextronics for 10 years, joining the contract assembler following a long career at Ford/Visteon.

Ed. note: The original reporting indicated Shangguan left the company in December. A Flextronics spokesperson told CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY he will leave at the end of this month.