Perhaps Qualcomm is starting to feel nervous about Intel’s incursions into its strongholds, as it has hired a new chief marketing officer who will certainly understand the larger firm’s DNA.
Qualcomm has recruited Anand Chandrasekher, formerly a high profile Intel veteran and head of its Ultra Mobility group, although he left the firm last year. At the time, that was seen as a blow for Intel’s fledgling smartphone activities and the loss of a key figurehead hit confidence. However, this year Intel has achieved greater respect for the handset implementation of the Atom processor family and gained some design wins, putting some pressure on Qualcomm for the first time.
The latter will now put Chandrasekher in charge of global marketing and external communications, reporting to COO Steve Mollenkopf. He will bring in-depth understanding of Intel’s Atom strategy, having spent almost 25 years at the firm in roles including head of sales and marketing, and corporate VP of the Mobile Platforms Group. His greatest legacy was reportedly to have persuaded Intel chiefs to market the Centrino Wi-Fi chipset, one of its great wireless successes.
In its statement, Qualcomm described Chandrasekher as ‘a seasoned global operating and management executive with a proven track record in strategic planning, product development and marketing.’