Intel Corp's board elected three-decade insider Brian Krzanich as its next chief executive, disappointing some investors looking for aggressive change as the world's largest chipmaker increasingly finds itself left out of the mobile revolution.
The board also elected software honcho Renée James, 48, to be president of Intel. Her appointment signaled to some that Intel, while likely intending to stick with its formula of intense investment to keep it ahead in the microchip technology game, is willing to explore new growth areas.
Intel's shares fell 1.3% in early trading but later recovered.
Seen as a frontrunner for the job since November, Krzanich inherits a company with margins of almost 60% that has all but extinguished rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in the past few years and is now the dominant maker of microprocessors for computers and servers.
But the company is in danger of finding itself sidelined as mobile devices such as tablets and ever more powerful smartphones accelerate a contraction of the PC market. The majority of gadgets today run processors based on rival ARM Holdings' power-saving chip architecture.
Krzanich, 52, has worked at Intel since 1982 and will take on the top job at the company's annual shareholder meeting on May 16, replacing Paul Otellini.
James, who in 2011 spearheaded Intel's $7.7 bln acquisition of No. 2 security software firm McAfee, ran software product and service sales as well as a team of engineers focused on improving the performance of Microsoft's Windows 8 and Google's Android software when run on the company's microchips.
The California company came under fire during Otellini's tenure for missing out on the mobile revolution, while underestimating the scale of the eventual drop-off in PC demand. The company, which once said emerging markets could offset a dropoff in developed-world demand, orchestrated a push on pricey "Ultrabook" laptops that has so far failed to excite consumers.
Last month, Intel warned that current-quarter revenue would fall as much as 8%, given the drop in PC sales. The company affirmed its full-year revenue growth target, but analysts think that forecast will be hard to hit.
Intel set Krzanich's 2013 compensation package at $10 mln including base pay of $1 mln, an annual incentive cash target of $2.5 mln and equity awards for 2013 with a grant date fair value of $6.5 mln.
