Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf will retire in the top job on June 30 to be succeeded by Cristiano Amon, the chipmaker’s board announced Tuesday.
Amon, 50, has served as president of the company for three years heading up semiconductor revenue streams, including mobile, RF front end, automotive and IoT and global operations.
Mollenkopf, 52, has been CEO since March 2014 and has served as an engineer and in other roles at Qualcomm for 26 years. In addition to overseeing wireless chip advancements from 3G to 5G, he has helped move Qualcomm into IoT and automotive as well as RF front end work.
He will continue as a strategic advisor after June 30 for a period of time, the company said in a statement. “Qualcomm is well positioned for the future and I am confident that with Cristiano as CEO, the company will continue to invent leading technology and create value for all of our stakeholders.”
Qualcomm Board Chairman Mark McLaughlin noted that Qualcomm has endured multiple challenges during Mollenkopf’s seven-year tenure, “more than most leaders face in their entire careers.” In addition to strong competition from chip competitors, Qualcomm has faced down major lawsuits over its chip licensing practices with its QTL licensing segment and its patent portfolio.
Qualcomm a hostile takeover attempt from Broadcom during his tenure. Since becoming CEO in 2014, the company’s stock has gained more than 96% in value.
Amon said he is honored to be named the next CEO. “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,” he said in a statement. “The need for our solutions has never been more pronounced…”
Qualcomm has 41,000 global employees and finished 2019 with more than $14 billion in revenues, making it the sixth largest chip company globally by revenues. Qualcomm shares opened early Tuesday on the Nasdaq exchange at 149.25 and quickly rose by more than 1%. The price a year-long low in late March of 60.25 and rose to a year-long high of 158.80 on December 8.
RELATED: Qualcomm launches IoT services for logistics, construction, education and healthcare