Intel today announced its decision to make permanent its appointment of Robert Swan as the company"s CEO, a position he has been holding on an interim basis for the past seven months following the departure of former CEO Brian Kraznich.
Kraznich chose to resign from his post late last June following revelations that he had been involved in a consensual relationship with a fellow employee, which the company termed a "violation of Intel’s non-fraternization policy, which applies to all managers" in a statement at the time.
Then Intel"s CFO, Swan was tapped by the company"s board to take on the stewardship of the chipmaker on a temporary basis as it sought a permanent replacement for Kraznich. While Swan was initially reported to be uninterested in retaining the post on a permanent basis, it seems his decision has since changed.
Swan"s former position will now be filled by Todd Underwood, the company"s vice president of Finance, on an interim basis, as internal and external candidates for a permanent appointment to the post of CFO are considered.
Following his appointment, Swan issued the following statement:
“In my role as interim CEO, I’ve developed an even deeper understanding of Intel’s opportunities and challenges, our people and our customers. When I was first named interim CEO, I was immediately focused on running the company and working with our customers. When the board approached me to take on the role permanently, I jumped at the chance to lead this special company. This is an exciting time for Intel: 2018 was an outstanding year and we are in the midst of transforming the company to pursue our biggest market opportunity ever. I’m honored to have the chance to continue working alongside our board, our leadership team, and our more than 107,000 superb employees as we take the company forward.”
Swan will also be joining the company"s board of directors.
The announcement has been met with some disappointment on Wall Street, it seems, with the company"s share dipping ever so slightly. Intel"s Chairman, Andy Bryant, however, expressed full confidence in Swan, "We considered many outstanding executives and we concluded the best choice is Bob. Important in the board’s decision was the outstanding job Bob did as interim CEO for the past seven months, as reflected in Intel’s outstanding results in 2018.”