Intel promotes COO to CEO
Krzanich to focus assets on mobile
NEW YORK — Intel, one of the pillars of Silicon Valley, is following its traditions and promoting an insider to the job of CEO.
The world’s largest chipmaker is tasking Chief Operating Officer Brian Krzanich with steering it through an industry shake-up that is seeing tablets and smartphones overshadow Intel’s base in personal computers.
Intel announced Thursday that Krzanich will replace Paul Otellini on May 16. Six months ago, Otellini, 62, announced his surprise decision to resign and will end a nearly 40-year career with Intel, includi ng ei ght years as CEO. Krzanich, who is 52 and spent his entire career at the company, comes out of a manufacturing organization where meticulous attention is required to churn out processors with billions of minute details.
In an interview, Krzanich said he will tackle the challenge of declining PC sales by relying on the assets that Intel is built on: its engineering prowess and enormous, billion-dollar chip factories, which feature technologies that are years ahead of its competitors.
“Those assets will be focused more and more toward the ultra-mobility space ... tablets and phones,” Krzanich told The Associated Press. “These are areas that we need to build a presence in, and we have the assets to bring to bear on it.”
One of the tech giant’s largest chip-making plants is in Rio Rancho, where it employs more than 3,000 people.