Intel competitor ARM gets a new CEO
Whomever Intel chooses as its new CEO when Paul Otellini steps down on May 16 will be facing a new adversary at Intel’s feisty competitor, ARM Holdings.
Warren East, who had presided since 1994 as CEO of the British microchip design firm said Tuesday that he will resign on July 1, because it was time for new blood at his company. He will be replaced by ARM’s president, Simon Segars.
However, analysts with BMO Capital Markets concluded in a note to their clients that “we do not expect any major changes to ARM’s strategic direction.” And that may not be encouraging to the folks at Santa Clara chipmaker Intel.
Hoping to branch out from its mainstay business of supplying chips to personal computers, which are losing favor with consumers, Intel is trying to get its brainy circuits into smartphones and other mobile devices. But that market is dominated by chips using ARM’s designs.
Meanwhile, ARM has been pushing to get into PCs and another sector Intel has long dominated with its chips — computer servers. So the clash between these two titans should continue to intensify.
