Intel Chief Paul Otellini To Retire In May

Paul Otellini is to retire this May, stepping down as Intel CEO after 40 years at the firm and eight years in the top role.

Otellini has overseen much change at Intel, as the world moved from desktops to mobiles. Whilst the company retains much of the PC and server markets with its x86 architecture, it has failed to keep up with others in the smartphone and tablet arenas.

It is now hoping it doesn’t miss out on the massive shift to mobile, as PC shipments decline globally and data centres start to use more commodity hardware.

Bye-bye Paul Otellini

Intel is currently betting on its Atom chips and Medfield architecture to catch up with ARM-designed chips which can be found in the majority of today’s most popular phones and tablets. It is also reportedly working on a 48-core chip for mobile devices.

And it will be hoping fresh blood will help invigorate its mobile play.

Intel said it will now look for internal and external candidates for the job. It also announced new executive vice president roles for Renee James, head of Intel’s software business, Brian Krzanich, chief operating officer and head of worldwide manufacturing, and Stacy Smith, chief financial officer and director of corporate strategy.

“I’ve been privileged to lead one of the world’s greatest companies,” Otellini said. “It’s time to move on and transfer Intel’s helm to a new generation of leadership.”

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