Intel Chief Krzanich Quits Over Relationship

Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich is to leave the company with immediate effect after the company learned of a consensual relationship with an employee, Intel said.

The relationship was in violation of Intel’s non-fraternisation policy, according to the company.

“Intel was recently informed that Mr Krzanich had a past consensual relationship with an Intel employee,” Intel said in a statement.

“An ongoing investigation by internal and external counsel has confirmed a violation of Intel’s non-fraternisation 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.”

Corporate turmoil

The relationship took place “some time back”, said CNBC, citing unnamed sources.

Krzanich joined Intel in 1982 and rose through technical and managerial positions to become chief executive in 2013. He has recently worked to lessen Intel’s reliance on the stagnant PC industry, and to expand its role in areas such as data services.

He is to be succeeded by Robert Swan, currently chief financial officer, who joined Intel from eBay in 2016.

Intel said it would conduct a search to find a permanent successor to Krzanich, taking both internal and external candidates into consideration.

Intel board chairman Andy Bryant said the firm valued Krzanich’s “many contributions”.

The company also said it expects a record performance in 2018, with $4.5 billion (£3.4bn) in profit for the first three months of the year on more than $16bn in revenue.

US chief executives who have left leading public companies following the disclosures of employee relationships include Christopher Kubasik, chief-in-waiting at Lockheed Martin, in 2012, Steven Heyer, who left the Starwood hotel chain in 2007 and Harry Stonecipher, who left Boeing in 2005.

Krzanich’s departure comes amidst intense pressure on US corporations to enforce workplace policies on gender relations.

Like many tech companies, Intel is dominated by male employees, with 73.5 percent of the total workforce being male, according to Intel’s 2017 diversity report.

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