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Former Intel CEO Paul Otellini dies at 66
Former Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini, the first non-engineer to run the chip making giant, died in his sleep Monday at age 66.
Otellini began at the company in 1974 in its finance department, moving to the new microprocessor group in the late 1970s as personal computers were taking off, later becoming chief of the division and overseeing the launch of the iconic Pentium processor in 1994. After serving as co-founder and CEO Andy Grove starting in 1989 and then in other management roles, such as president and chief operating officer from 2002 to 2005, he took over as CEO in May 2005 from manufacturing wizard Craig Barrett.
Otellini’s job was to transform Intel from a strictly technology- and manufacturing-based company to one that was more adroit in marketing. More than selling individual chips, he helped move Intel offer platforms of chips and other parts that often set standards for how personal computers were built.
The executive was less in the classic confrontational mode of previous CEOs such as Robert Noyce, Andy Grove and Barrett. But he was hardly a shrinking violet, mixing it up with pugnacious Microsoft Corp. President Steve Ballmer and others. He’s credited with, among other things, moving Intel seriously into servers and persuading Apple Inc. to use its chips in its PCs. Intel noted that during his eight-year tenure, as Intel’s revenue rose from $34 billion to $53 billion, the company generated more revenue than during its previous 45 years.
Otellini retired in 2013, the one obvious knock being that during the period he was in the top job, Intel was slow to move into mobile devices, allowing rivals such as Qualcomm Inc. to steal a march and leaving Intel out of a huge growth market.
Still, Intel remains a commanding force in technology and a model for management in the business world. “He was the relentless voice of the customer in a sea of engineers, and he taught us that we only win when we put the customer first.”
Otellini is survived by his wife Susan, son Patrick and daughter Alexis.
Photo: Intel
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