Otellini Steps Down, Intel’s New CEO Takes Over

All good things come to an end, and as of yesterday, Paul Otellini's fast and furious ride in the driver's seat as Intel's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) officially came to a halt. The 45-year-old face of Intel retired as chief, just as he announced he would back in November of last year, and handed the reins over to Brian M. Krzanich, the person Intel's board unanimously picked to fill Otellini's shoes.

"In May 2013, Paul Otellini retired as chief executive officer of Intel Corporation, a position he held for eight years. Over the course of nearly four decades of service, this California native excelled in several key positions," Intel stated on a farewell page dedicated to the retired CEO. "Paul is a rare Fortune 100 company executive. Not only did he dedicate his entire career to a single company, he rose through the ranks from recent college graduate to chief executive officer. He has been a vocal advocate for improved U.S. competitiveness, making major new investments in American manufacturing and R&D. His work positioned Intel to win and compete beyond the PC, including the data center and cloud, phones, tablets, embedded products, software, and security."

Paul Otellini
Paul Otellini (former CEO and current board member), left, stands next to Craig Barret (chairman) and Sean Maloney (executive vice president and chief sales and marking officer).

Intel thrived under Otellini's leadership, in which he oversaw the introduction of a tick-tock release schedule, several product launches such as Intel's Core architecture and Atom processor family, a reduction in the manufacturing process to 22nm with 3D tri-gate transistors, and so much more. During his tenure, Intel grew from a $34 billion company to a $58 billion company.

Brian Krzanich
Brian Krzanich, the new face (and CEO) of Intel.

Otellini isn't just leaving behind a legacy, he's also handing down significant challenges that Krzanich must figure out, most notably how to navigate in today's mobile waters. It wouldn't be fair to say that Intel was caught completely off guard by the recent transition to mobile, but it also doesn't seem like the world's largest semiconductor company was as prepared for the shift as ARM.

In any event, we wish all the best to Otellini in retirement, and look forward to what unfolds during Intel's next chapter.