Following an exhaustive search that lasted seven months, Intel is back where it started. The company today announced that Robert Swan has been promoted to CEO. Swan, who has been serving as Intel’s interim CEO for seven months and as chief financial officer since 2016, is now the seventh CEO for the 50-year-old company.
Intel’s former CEO Brian Krzanich abruptly left the company in June when a past consensual relationship with an employee was discovered. Since then, numerous names have been floated as potential successors including former Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha, Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon and VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger as well as other internal candidates and former Intel executives.
As part of his promotion, Swan was also elected to Intel’s board of directors. The company is now searching for a permanent CFO, but has named Todd Underwood, vice president of finance, to serve in the role on an interim basis.
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“As Intel continues to transform its business to capture more of a large and expanding opportunity that includes the data center, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving, while continuing to get value from the PC business, the board concluded after a thorough search that Bob is the right leader to drive Intel into its next era of growth,” Intel Chairman Andy Bryant said in a prepared statement. “We considered many outstanding executives and we concluded the best choice is Bob.”
Swan said he’s developed a deeper understanding of Intel’s opportunities and challenges during his time as interim CEO. “When the board approached me to take on the role permanently, I jumped at the chance to lead this special company,” he said in a prepared statement. “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.”
Swan previously served as an operating partner at General Atlantic and was eBay’s CFO for nine years. He began his career at General Electric where he served in several senior finance roles during a 15-year stint at the company. Swan now leads a company with more than 107,000 employees.