The CEO of Intel abruptly resigns over a relationship he had with another employee.
Brian Krzanich abruptly resigned as chief executive of Intel Corp. on Thursday after the giant chip maker found that he had a past consensual relationship with an Intel employee that violated the company’s policies.
Robert Swan, Intel’s chief financial officer, was named interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent chief executive.
Intel said it was “recently informed” that Krzanich had the relationship and, after an internal investigation, it “confirmed a violation of Intel’s non-fraternization policy, which applies to all managers.”
“Given the expectation that all employees will respect Intel’s values and adhere to the company’s code of conduct, the board has accepted Mr. Krzanich’s resignation,” the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said.
The employee was not identified, nor did Intel say when the relationship occurred. Intel declined to elaborate on the matter. Krzanich could not be immediately reached for comment.
Krzanich’s departure underlined how major corporations are taking a stricter stance toward office romances involving executives rather than merely discouraging them. That’s evident in Intel having an established code of conduct for such relationships.
A career Intel employee, Krzanich, 58, had been chief executive since May 2013 and was leading Intel’s effort to shift from being mainly a producer of microprocessors for personal computers to providing more chips for other applications, including mobile computing, commercial drones and autonomous driving.
Intel, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, had record revenue of $62.8 billion last year and employs about 102,700 people worldwide.
Intel on Thursday also raised its financial guidance for the company’s performance this year and said it “expects 2018 to be another record year.”
Intel’s stock — one of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average — has soared 53 percent in the last 12 months, although it fell 1.3 percent to $52.78 a share in early trading Thursday after the Krzanich announcement.
“The board believes strongly in Intel’s strategy and we are confident in Bob Swan’s ability to lead the company as we conduct a robust search for our next CEO,” Intel Chairman Andy Bryant said in a statement.