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Intel president Renee James to step down amid management reshuffle

Last updated: 10:52 03 Jul 2015 EDT, First published: 08:52 03 Jul 2015 EDT

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Intel supplies chips for more than 80 percent of the personal computer market but has been wounded of late by declining PC sales. Krzanich is looking to expand beyond Intel’s core businesses by providing chips for smart cars and so-called Internet of Things appliances.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), the world’s largest chipmaker, said its president, Renée James, will step down to seek a chief executive officer role elsewhere.

James, 51, is one of the most prominent female executives in Silicon Valley and the highest-ranking woman ever at Intel

She agreed to stay until the end of the year to help with transition planning, chief executive officer Brian Krzanich said in a letter to employees late yesterday.

She will receive $4 million in severance if she remains through January during the transition, according to a filing.

Laura Anderson, an Intel spokeswoman, said James “is seeking a role,” but has not secured a new job.

James was named president in May of 2013 alongside CEO Krzanich after the pair made an unusual joint pitch to the company’s board of directors following the retirement of former CEO Paul Otellini.

“When Brian and I were appointed to our current roles, I knew then that being the leader of a company was something that I desired as part of my own leadership journey. Now is the right time for me to take that next step,” James said in a message distributed internally to Intel employees.

In James’ 28 year career at Intel, she led the company’s expansion into software and services. Under James, Intel made two big software acquisitions, the $7.6 billion purchase of online security company McAfee and the $884 million buy up of embedded software company Wind River Systems.

In another high-profile change, longtime Intel Capital chief Arvind Sodhani, 61, would retire in January, the company said.

Sodhani, whose career with the company spans 34 years, is a vice president too. "I have been a financial investor all my professional life, and that will most likely not change," Sodhani said. 

Mike Bell, a former Apple executive who ran Intel’s unsuccessful moves into mobile devices, and more recently was running its wearable technology business, is retiring. Hermann Eul, another relatively recent hire who was working in mobile, is also leaving.

Intel supplies chips for more than 80 percent of the personal computer market but has been wounded of late by declining PC sales. Krzanich is looking to expand beyond Intel’s core businesses by providing chips for smart cars and so-called Internet of Things appliances. That was a major strategic motivator behind Intel’s purchase last month of Altera, in an all-cash transaction valued at a whopping $16.7 billion.

Shares of Intel have lost 16 percent so far this year and closed at $30.56, up 1.2 percent, yesterday.


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