Stacy Smith, Intel's former chief financial officer who serves in a sprawling role as president of manufacturing, operations, and sales, is leaving the company's fluctuating executive ranks.
On Tuesday, the chipmaker said that Smith would officially leave at the end of January. He is the latest block to fall out of Intel’s corporate pyramid as the company makes extensive changes to win business in factories, data centers, and autonomous cars.
The reigns of Intel’s client computing group, which sells processors for personal computers, have been particularly volatile. Last year, the company’s announcement that it would cut 12,000 jobs as part of a major restructuring forced out the unit’s chief Kirk Skaugen. Kim Stevenson’s term as his replacement lasted less than a year. She quit in February.
These changes have also created a vacuum increasingly filled by outsiders like Venkata Renduchintala, Intel's chief of engineering, who has been given broad authority over the Internet of Things and personal computer business since he was hired – with a full-blooded signing bonus – from Qualcomm in late 2015.
Last year, Intel has also hired Thomas Lantsch, the former executive vice president of strategy at Arm, whose chips battered Intel’s products in the smartphone era. Before that, the company recruited Kathy Winter, a former Delphi executive, who serves as a general manager focused on automated driving solutions.
Other businesses have not been immune. Diane Bryant, Intel’s data center president, has been on leave for the last three months. Her replacement, Navin Shenoy, ran the client computing group after Stevenson’s exit. Last year, Doug Davis postponed his retirement to run a new autonomous driving unit, which is now led by Mobileye’s Amnon Shashua.
Smith served nine years as Intel's chief financial officer starting in 2008. That also entailed managing Intel's venture capital unit, which has increasingly funded artificial intelligence firms. He pinballed around Intel after being hired in 1988 and previously served as the company's chief information officer.
“I want to thank Stacy for his leadership and his many outstanding contributions to Intel’s success,” said Brian Krzanich, who beat out Smith to become Intel's chief executive in 2014, in a statement. “For me personally, Stacy has been an incredibly valued colleague, and I will miss him.”
Intel said that Smith would retire after leaving in January. The departure comes little more than a year after Smith, who is 54 years old, assumed control of Intel's manufacturing, operations, and sales. That role, which was created for Smith, could be filled by Bryant if it stays open for the next few months.