Tower Semiconductor Ltd.'s reorganization continues as the company today appointed Intel Corp. veteran Rafi Nave as VP of customer services.

This appointment will take effect in mid-August.

In this position, Nave will oversee all areas of customer service, including account management, project management, IP and design services, the VLSI design center and customer support. He will report to Carmel Vernia, chairman of the board and CEO of Tower. Nave is the first senior appointment since Vernia joined the company a month ago.

"Taking our customer-service organization to new heights of achievement is essential to enhancing our global market position, and I am confident that Rafi is the person to lead that effort," Vernia said in a statement. "With over 20 years of experience gained from working at Intel, he is familiar with customer needs and knows how to provide customers with the best possible service solutions."

Creating the position of VP of customer services is the most recent action that Tower has taken as part of its customer-focus reorganization. Earlier this year, Tower opened a new office near Boston to support customers in the United States and hired Harold Blomquist to direct the company's global business development activities from Israel and the United States. That followed the company's co-CEO resignation announced in March.

"Having worked in the semiconductor industry for most of my career, I have watched with great interest Tower's inception and evolution," Nave said in a statement. "The company has overcome myriad obstacles, including the most recent downturn, through the intelligence, hard work and perseverance of its people."

Nave joins Tower after six years as VP of R&D for NDS Group. Prior to that, he spent most of his career at Intel where he started as a chip design engineer, managed the development of Intel's family of 8XX87 math co-processors and served as GM of Intel's design center in Israel.