Qualcomm taps former Intel exec to run marketing

IDG News Service - Qualcomm on Monday said it has appointed a former Intel executive to run marketing as the company expands in the mobile device space.

As chief marketing officer, Anand Chandrasekher will handle Qualcomm's global marketing and external communication. He will report to Steve Mollenkopf, president and chief operating officer of Qualcomm.

Chandrasekher previously spent 25 years at Intel and was most recently chief of the company's Ultra Mobility Group, responsible for the company's tablet and smartphone strategy. Intel announced his resignation on March 22 last year, and the company went on to restructure its mobile operations late last year.

Intel did not see success in tablets and smartphone markets under Chandrasekher's watch, with its chips appearing in no smarpthones and only a handful of tablets. The first Intel Inside smartphones were released earlier this year by Lava International, Lenovo and Orange.

Qualcomm has a more prominent presence in the smartphones and tablets with its Snapdragon processor, which are based on ARM architecture. Snapdragon chips go into a range of mobile devices and tablets running on Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows Phone operating systems. Qualcomm is also putting Snapdragon chips in upcoming Windows 8 tablets. Qualcomm also sells wireless radios and other components.

A number of chip executives have shifted roles lately. Qualcomm in May hired former AMD graphics Chief Technology Officer Eric Demers. Last week, AMD appointed former Apple chip executive Jim Keller as the head of its processor group.

Agam Shah covers PCs, tablets, servers, chips and semiconductors for IDG News Service. Follow Agam on Twitter at @agamsh. Agam's e-mail address is agam_shah@idg.com