What you need to know
- Qualcomm's CEO Steve Mollenkopf is set to retire after 26 years with the company.
- He had led the company as its CEO through the smartphone boom of the mid-2010s.
- Cristiano Amon is the new CEO.
Qualcomm today announced the retirement of its current CEO as the board unanimously appointed a new one.
Steve Mollenkopf, the outgoing CEO of the company, had served the giant for over 26 years in various roles. Most prominently, he led the company as CEO from 2014, driving the adoption of its chips during the smartphone boom of the mid-2010s and overseeing its expansion to the IoT and Automotive sectors. Qualcomm's chips have powered some of the best Android phones of the past few years, and it's set to continue to do so in the years going forward barring substantial competiton from Samsung's Exynos, or even Google's rumored chipsets.
Cristiano Amon, the current President of Qualcomm Incorporated, will be replacing him as CEO. Amon has served in this role since 2018, and has helped drive the company's 5G strategy.
Reacting to his new role, Amon said:
I am honored to be named the next CEO of Qualcomm and appreciate the confidence that Steve and the Board have in me. Qualcomm is an incredible Company. We have been at the forefront of innovation for decades and I look forward to maintaining this position going forward. In addition to driving the expansion of 5G into mainstream devices and beyond mobile, Qualcomm is set to play a key role in the digital transformation of numerous industries as our technologies become essential to connecting everything to the cloud.The need for our solutions has never been more pronounced and our leadership position has never been more evident. I look forward to working with our 41,000 employees around the world to create technologies that revolutionize the way people live, work, and connect with each other.
Mollenkopf is set to continue with the company in an advisory role for an unspecified period.
