Qualcomm (QCOM) said today that Steve Mollenkopf, its president and chief operating officer, will become CEO on March 4. Current CEO Paul Jacobs, son of Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs, will assume the role of executive chairman. Jacobs will help guide development of new technology and long-term opportunities, according to the company.
Today’s surprise announcement comes on the heels of yesterday’s reports that Microsoft was courting Mollenkopf. Microsoft is in search of a new CEO to replace Steve Ballmer.
Steve Mollenkopf has been with Qualcomm for 20 years. He led its chipset business to become the world’s leading supplier of chipsets for mobile devices, and the company credits Mollenkopf with establishing its leadership position in LTE chipsets. Qualcomm’s acquisition of Wi-Fi chipmaker Atheros happened under Mollenkopf’s direction as well.
“Qualcomm’s focus on execution in product and technology development has helped to establish us as a leader in wireless with our partners,” said Mollenkopf in a statement. “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.”
Qualcomm’s leadership change means that three of the leading chip companies in the mobile space will have appointed new CEOs within one year. ARM’s new CEO Simon Segars took over in July, and Brian Krzanich became CEO of Intel in May.
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