In news that came as a bit of a surprise for those who closely follow EMC’s Joe Tucci, news is making the rounds the last couple of weeks in the pages of Bloomberg and the EE|Times that the CEO is stepping down some time next year. Speaking at a conference in New York last month, Tucci revealed a plan that had apparently been in the works for some time to step down as CEO after 2012 and move to the role of executive chairman.

As recently as January this year, in briefings to press and analysts Tucci and other executives indicated he had no plans for stepping for quite some time, saying that “he’s having too much fun and showing no signs of slowing down.”

Today, Bloomberg News went in depth in its predictions as to who would succeed Tucci, naming EMC CFO David Goulden and EMC COO Pat Gelsinger the most likely candidates.

As a two time alum of EMCworld, and someone who’s had a chance to speak one on one with a variety of EMC executives, including Pat Gelsinger, I was surprised to have not been familiar with Goulden’s history with EMC, so I spoke to Dave Vellante, Chief Analyst at Wikibon, for his opinion.

“Goulden’s been with the company since 2002, and he’s worked in sales, marketing and finance, and sits on the Board of Directors for VMware,” said Vellante. “He’s an obvious pick for the CEO slot, but if Gelsinger continues to deliver, he’s probably going to be the guy.”

Pat Gelsinger has been on SiliconANGLE’s flagship live broadcast program, #theCube, many times (most recently at EMCworld 2011, where he took an hour to speak with Vellante and SiliconANGLE founder John Furrier on air).

“Part of the allure to investors of bringing Gelsinger on board from Intel was that he was being groomed for the top slot,” Vellante continued. “On the other hand, Goulden is a fairly dynamic and well rounded guy. It’s hard to make a prediction; it’s very neck-and-neck. I’d give a slight edge to Gelsinger in a very close race.”

Other analysts agree with Vellante; in the Bloomberg piece, they quoted Pacific Crest’s Bracelin and Marshall at Gleacher & Co as saying:

“Between Gelsinger and Goulden, it’s a no-brainer–it’s Pat Gelsinger all around,” Marshall said. “He’s very aggressive, he has the support of the troops, and he’s sharp as hell.”

While Gelsinger and Goulden are considered top choices for the job, other #theCube alum are said to be also in line for the gig, including Howard Elias and Michael Capellas.