Brian M. Krzanich, who on Thursday was named Intel’s next chief executive, knows he faces a hefty challenge when he takes over the world’s biggest maker of semiconductors, Quentin Hardy reports in The New York Times.
The company, which became a household name through its “Intel inside” stickers on personal computers, is still the king of PC chips. But that is a shrinking business, and Intel is a laggard in making chips for hot products like smartphones and tablets. That has put Intel in a bind, as semiconductor competitors long under its thumb have gained traction through relationships with mobile device leaders like Apple and Samsung.
But Mr. Krzanich, a 52-year-old company veteran who started with Intel as an engineer when he was 22, says he is clear-eyed about the challenges and has a plan to stop his company’s slide.
“I look at this world and see all kinds of devices connected to computers, and people connected to it all the time,” Mr. Krzanich said. “We can bring things to companies that others haven’t dreamed of.”
He even has a broader picture of Intel’s future, like imagining moving beyond today’s popular mobile devices and into other gadgets in people’s homes and even into so-called wearable computing devices. “If you’re just talking phones, you’re shooting behind the duck,” he added.