Skip to Content

The Sudden Departure of Intel’s CEO

Intel has made strides on mobile chips, but apparently not fast enough to win market share.
November 19, 2012

Intel is a very well-run and methodical company that likes to carefully manage big moments like CEO transitions. So it was surprising to see today that the company appeared to be surprised by CEO Paul Otellini’s decision to retire in May at age 62. There is no clear successor.

It’s a reminder that Intel faces something that could bubble over into a crisis. As we showed in this chart last week (“The Pressure’s on for Intel”), the company has failed to keep up with the computer industry’s shift to mobile devices. In those devices, energy-efficient chips based on a different architecture, designed by ARM Holdings, are dominant. Intel has made impressive gains lately in the performance of its mobile processors, but they haven’t yet translated into market share gains. Meanwhile, ARM-based chips could start to make significant inroads into Intel’s traditional market for server processors. This is why Intel shareholders are in roughly the same position they were a decade ago.

If there’s an upside for Intel, it’s this: it can tell CEO candidates that they have a chance to be the company’s savior.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build

“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.”

Meet the people who use Notion to plan their whole lives

The workplace tool’s appeal extends far beyond organizing work projects. Many users find it’s just as useful for managing their free time.

Learning to code isn’t enough

Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.

Deep learning pioneer Geoffrey Hinton has quit Google

Hinton will be speaking at EmTech Digital on Wednesday.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.