Intel's Next CEO Will Be COO Brian Krzanich

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Intel has officially announced that current chief operating officer Brian Krzanich will replace retiring CEO Paul Otellini. The news disappointed some observers who had been hoping that Intel would hire an outsider.

The Washington Post’s Hayley Tsukayama reported, “Intel has named chief operating officer Brian Krzanich to succeed Paul Otellini as chief executive officer, effective May 16, the company announced Thursday. Krzanich, 52, was promoted to an executive vice president post in November, when Otellini announced his pending retirement, to ease the transition to new leadership. He was a leading contender — Intel has a history of promoting its COOs to CEO — and will be the sixth chief executive in the company’s 45-year history. Krzanich has been with the company since 1982.”

Sinead Carew with Reuters said the news disappointed “investors who were looking for more aggressive change. Intel shares fell 1.3 percent in early trade but later traded flat. The world’s biggest chipmaker had said last November that it might go external for the next CEO, raising hopes that it might find someone to shake it out of recent doldrums. ‘An external candidate might have been a better choice – with no negative reflection on Brian – simply because of the juncture Intel is at with what’s happening in the PC market and the need to take major action outside of PCs,’ said Cody Acree, an analyst at Williams Financial Group.”

Barron’s quoted J.P. Morgan’s Christopher Danely, who said, “We believe Mr. Krzanich is the best person for the job as he understands both the PC industry and manufacturing, which we believe will be critical as Intel’s foundry business continues to gain momentum. We continue to believe Intel’s foundry business can generate $4.2 billion in annual revenue by 2017 which could offset the loss of revenue from the PC market losing share to tablets and smartphones.”

All Things D’s Arik Hesseldahl noted, “Renée James, the head of Intel’s software business, was named president…. James’s elevation to president also sends an important signal about the rising importance of software at Intel. While Intel is at its core a manufacturing company, it has recognized the importance of software and acted accordingly. As [researcher Patrick] Moorhead put it: ‘Intel once said it is the third-largest software company in the world, and I can’t prove, but I believe it. Intel is sending a really important message here. It sees software as where the puck is going.'”