The board of directors of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) appointed Steve Mollenkopf, its current president to become the next CEO of the company effective March 4, 2014. The promotion ended speculations that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is considering him as a candidate to replace Steve Ballmer next year.
Commenting on Mollenkopf’s promotion, Chris Rolland, analysts at FBR said, “He would have been an awesome (Microsoft) CEO. Qualcomm didn’t want to lose him, and it makes sense to me. If I were the son of a founder of a $130 billion company, I would want to make sure I have the top guy behind me – and Steve is definitely that guy,”
According to Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM), Mollenkopf will be responsible in overseeing all the business units and functional groups of the company.
Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, the current CEO and son of the co-founder of the company will serve as executive chairman. He will provide guidance to the management in the development of new technology and long-term opportunities for Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM).
In a statement, Sherry Lansing, presiding director of the board of the company said, “With today’s announcement, we enable a smooth transition to a proven executive in Steve Mollenkopf, while providing for ongoing executive guidance and board-level leadership from Paul Jacobs.”
She added that the board of directors of the company has the highest degree of confidence that Molellenkopf’s leadership will further boost the impressive record of the company in innovation and value creation for shareholders.
Mollenkopf is a 20-year veteran at Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM). He handled various positions in the company such as head of QCT, its chipset business. He helped the company to become the biggest mobile chipset supplier and leader in LTE technology worldwide.
“I am honored to have been chosen by the board to lead Qualcomm into the next exciting era of the company. “Qualcomm’s focus on execution in product and technology development has helped to establish us as a leader in wireless with our partners. I look forward to working with our executive team and our employees in driving growth for our company and the entire mobile ecosystem as it transitions to 4G and beyond,” said Mollenkopf in statement.
On the other hand, Jacobs said, “I am very proud of what we have accomplished during my time as CEO and look forward to being part of the company’s continued success. At its heart, Qualcomm is a company of inventors and entrepreneurs and I’m excited by the opportunities that lay ahead as we continue to push the boundaries of technology in mobile and beyond…”
