Who do you think will replace Paul Otellini as Intel CEO? 

The world’s largest semiconductor maker Intel Corp. is seeking a replacement for departing Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini, who’s leaving 3 years before Intel’s mandatory retirement age.

Under Mr Paul Otellini leadership, senior management failed to equip Intel for a shift toward mobile devices, managing to get less than 1% of chips for smartphones and tablets market.

The company today promoted three senior leaders to the position of executive vice president: Stacy Smith, chief financial officer and director of corporate strategy; Brian Krzanich, chief operating officer; and Renee James, head of Intel’s software business.

Intel’s board will consider internal and external candidates to replace Paul Otellini when he retires in May, Intel said yesterday in a statement.

Andy Bryant, Intel’s chairman, said Mr. Otellini’s decision came as a surprise and wasn’t based on any specific factor—other than after eight years Mr. Otellini felt it was time for a new leader to take over the difficult job. “I did try to encourage him to stay longer,” Mr. Bryant said in an interview. “He said, ‘I think its time to make the transition now.’”

Paul Otellini will be ending a nearly 40-year career with Intel, including an eight-year stint as Chief Executive Officer. He joined the Santa Clara, California company after graduating from the nearby University of California at Berkeley and worked his way up the ranks before succeeding Craig Barrett as CEO in 2005.

• Intel has never chosen an outside CEO.
• Otellini became Intel CEO just as the company was losing processor market share to rival Advanced Micro Devices
• Craig Barrett, Andy Grove and founders Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce came from within internal ranks.
• In past successions, Intel has elevated the current COO to the top job.
• The PC market this year will post its first annual decline in more than a decade -  Intel is heavily dependent on PCs.
• Intel has yet to really establish a beachhead in mobile computing.

The potential candidates, the ones most visible

1) Stacy Smith - chief financial officer and director of corporate strategy

2) Brian Krzanich -  chief operating officer and heads up Intel’s manufacturing. (The COO job has historically been a stepping-off point for incoming Intel CEOs)

3) Dadi Perlmutter- executive vice presiden at Intel Architecture Group

4) Pat Gelsinger- an ex-Intel executive and now CEO at VMware

5) Renee James - Intel’s software chief, head of software, used to be the top favorite to legendary Intel CEO Andy Grove, who once said he would like to see her run the company one day. Renee James’s chairwoman of Intel subsidiaries McAfee and Wind River Systems

6) Arvind Sodhani – president of Intel Capital, the company’s investment arm.

via Cea  and Dell

They are all considered strong candidates, who do you think will replace Paul Otellini as Intel CEO?

About the author: Thomas Frommherz

I am a tech reporter and have been writing about technology, digital marketing, Internet and startups at CEOWORLD Magazine since January 2010. Specialist areas of my research includes e-commerce, Android, smartphone adoption, and apps in general. I'm currently based in the New York City. If you have any tips or feedback, contact me via email: frommherz@ceoworld.biz