Intel CEO Paul Otellini Resigns in May 2013, Two Years Early
Subject: General Tech, Processors, Mobile | November 23, 2012 - 01:18 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: Intel, CEO
Intel has not had any financial or directional problems nor have they experienced a revolving door in upper management, at least to my knowledge. Paul Otellini was expected to remain at the helm of the chip giant until he turned 65 at which point he would enjoy a wonderful retirement. He would have commanded the company for a full decade.
Intel recently announced that Otellini will leave the company and retire at 62.
Possibly the most important part of the story might be the non-story piece: there does not appear to be any reason for him to leave. The board apparently did not want him to go. ARM holds a large lead in momentum over Intel, during Paul’s watch, in the mobile market but even then the future looks promising with early commentaries about Clover Trail. If I had to guess I would posit that his decision to step down is entirely for personal and possibly sudden circumstances. That was just a guess, however.
To further speculation about its abruptness, Intel does not seem to have anyone in mind as a replacement in just 6 months’ time. For the first time Intel will consider fulfilling the position from outside the company.
In related news, Intel’s stock made a slight dip in value after the abrupt announcement. While the decline was slight it does echo the reluctance mentioned earlier and shows that even the stock market approved of Intel’s performance over the last eight years.
OCZ's Ryan Peterson Resigns
Subject: Editorial | September 17, 2012 - 06:32 PM | Josh Walrath
Tagged: ssd, Ryan Peterson, ocz, CMO, CEO, Alex Mei
OCZ started in a strip mall making heatsinks and fans in 2002. Not exactly an auspicious beginning to a company that now is a dominant force in the SSD industry. The guy that has helped the company make the massive jumps it has is Ryan Peterson. Today OCZ has announced his resignation. Alex Mei, current CMO (chief marketing officer) is taking over as interim CEO until a replacement can be found.
It is hard to believe that just 10 years ago OCZ sprang into existence. A few quick exposes from other tech sites revealed a small company that was situated in a strip mall. Back in those years there was some questionable marketing tactics that the company used to present themselves as a much larger organization than they actually were (their website showed large, modern buildings and automated memory manufacturing equipment- neither of which the company had). Through perseverance, decent technical support, and some really interesting products at a time where enthusiast style memory was starting to grow, the company thrived and expanded.
The memory market has softened, and seemingly OCZ was well aware of where the market was going. They transitioned from being a memory company to a full blown SSD manufacturer. Along the way they picked up Indilinx and are now finally starting to produce their first custom silicon. The company continued to grow, and at the head of it all was Ryan Peterson. Often known as a polarizing figure, he nonetheless helped to lead OCZ into a position of significance and authority when it came to SSD technology.
It seems that the recent downturn in the company’s profits, and the seeming failure of the sale to Seagate of the company, Ryan submitted his resignation and the board of OCZ accepted it. Not much else is included in the release, other than thanking Ryan for his dedication to the company and wishing him and his family the best of luck.
This must be a hard day for Ryan, as he was truly a driving force in taking OCZ from the strip mall to the high rise. Change is inevitable though, and rarely do we see CEO’s like AMD’s Jerry Sanders last for decades at the helm of a company. The market is changing, and perhaps OCZ needs a new vision. Still, OCZ is now synonymous with the growing SSD market, and their acquisition of Indilinx allows them some flexibility and differentiation in what is now a very crowded area. Their introduction of inexpensive “server” style PCI-E SSD devices was another milestone, and it provided an inexpensive (and powerful) solution that competed well with other much more costly products from companies such as FusionIO.
It will be very interesting to see where the company goes, but we wish Ryan the best of luck.
The entire press release can be found here.
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