Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon appointed as the next CEO of the chip giant

Qualcomm has today announced a major leadership change at the company. Steve Mollenkopf, who served the role of Qualcomm’s CEO since 2014, is leaving the company after 26 years. Following his departure, Qualcomm’s President Cristiano Amon will take over the CEO position effective June 30, in the wake of Qualcomm’s Board of Directors unanimously picking him to lead the company. Following the leadership change, Mollenkopf will continue to serve as a strategic advisor for the company for a while

Mollenkopf leaves after spending 26 years at Qualcomm

“I am immensely proud of all that we have accomplished at Qualcomm and the position the Company currently enjoys as the world’s leader in wireless technologies,” said the outgoing Qualcomm chief. “Cristiano spearheaded the development of our 5G strategy, including its acceleration, industry-leading technology roadmap and global rollout.”

Under Mollenkopf’s leadership, Qualcomm truly transformed into the smartphone chip juggernaut that it is today, and is also making strides to replicate the same level of success in the world of PCs as well. However, things haven’t been all rosy and rainbows in his tenure, as Qualcomm was also involved in a massive patent licensing feud with Apple as part of which the Cupertino giant alleged Qualcomm of charging exorbitant fees and abusing its dominant market position. 

Qualcomm survived the massive feud with Apple under Mollenkopf

As for Amon, he has been the face of Qualcomm for a while now, leading product launches and talking about the company’s ambitions in the fields of 5G, automobiles, and IoT on various platforms. Now in his 15th year of association with Qualcomm, Amon is touted to be the guy who spearheaded the chipmaker’s foray in the domain of 5G.

“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,” Amon was quoted as saying in an official statement

Qualcomm has lately doubled down on its efforts to capitalize on the 5G wave. Just a day earlier, the company launched its first 5G-ready Snapdragon 4xx series chip that is destined for budget phones. After introducing 5G support with its top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8xx family of mobile chips, the company added 5G compatibility to its Snapdragon 7xx portfolio and eventually extended it to the Snapdragon 6xx line-up as well.

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