Chipset manufacturer Qualcomm has announced that its president Cristiano Amon will become CEO at the end of this June.
Amon (pictured) will succeed outgoing CEO Steve Mollenkopf, who is retiring from the company after working there for 26 years. Upon Mollenkopf’s announcement, the Qualcomm Board unanimously voted for Amon to succeed him.
Amon has served as Qualcomm’s president since January 2018. He has been responsible for Qualcomm’s semiconductor business (QCT), and has helped Qualcomm diversify beyond mobile and move into segments including auto and IoT.
“With our business model clearly validated and our leadership in 5G, this is the right time for Cristiano to assume leadership of the Company and preside over what I see as the single largest opportunity in the Company’s history,” said Mollenkopf.
“Cristiano spearheaded the development of our 5G strategy, including its acceleration, industry-leading technology roadmap and global rollout. He was also a key architect and driver of Qualcomm’s strategy to expand and diversify our business beyond mobile and into new industry segments such as Auto, RF Front-End and IoT.”
Both Amon and Mollenkopf are long-time employees of Qualcomm, with Mollenkopf joining in 1996 and Amon in 1995. Mollenkopf will remain as a strategic advisor for an unspecified period of time after stepping down.
Commenting on his new role, Amon said: “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 revolutionise the way people live, work and connect with each other.”
