Intel VP Replaces Channel Advocate Greg Pearson In Top Sales And Marketing Post

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Intel said Michelle Johnston Holthaus will take the channel gauntlet from Greg Pearson as the new head of the Sales and Marketing Group, effective Sept. 6.

Pearson, who has been the senior vice president and general manager of Intel's sales and marketing group since 2013, will "remain on the company's management committee and is expected to take on a new role with the company, which will be announced at a later date," according to the filing.

Holthaus, meanwhile, has worked at Intel since 2003 in several channel-related positions, most recently as the company's vice president and general manager of sales and marketing for the Client Computing Group.

[Related: The 10 Biggest Intel Executive Moves Of The Last 12 Months]

As Intel has focused on new arenas such as the Internet of Things and 5G, Pearson has played a critical role in creating flexible platforms to help the channel adapt and innovate.

"When it comes to the channel, we're aware our Intel Technology Provider program members have a wide breadth of expertise and serve customers in areas that range from data center, memory technology and cloud," Pearson said in an interview with CRN in May. "No one knows their business better than our channel partners so, as it has been in the past, we'll continue our strategy of enablement."

Holthaus, meanwhile, has an extensive history with the channel, serving in positions including general manager of the channel for Central Marketing and Operations, as well as the general manager for the Channel Mobile Product Group and general manager of the Channel Desktop Products Group. In 2014, Holthaus was listed as one of CRN's Power 100 executives in the Women of the Channel list.

Pearson is the second executive transition at Intel – earlier in the week, the company said longtime executive Stacy Smith, who is currently the president of manufacturing, operations and sales, will depart in January 2018.

’With warm wishes, I’m writing to let you know that after 30 years at Intel, Stacy Smith has decided to retire from Intel at the end of January 2018," said CEO Brian Krzanich in a statement. "Stacy is a key pillar of our MCM team and a mentor and friend to so many at the company. His career at Intel has spanned every geography and many organizations. Stacy helped guide Intel through the great recession as CFO and has been instrumental in helping to transform Intel from PC to data-centric.’

Intel, Santa Clara, Calif., did not reveal any details about who would be taking over the role of president of manufacturing, operations and sales. Smith worked for 30 years at Intel with a career spanning from head of EMEA sales and marketing, and chief information officer.

The executive was formerly Intel's chief financial officer, before the company in September 2016 appointed him to a broader role spearheading manufacturing, operations and sales.

Smith is the latest of several executives to depart Intel over the past year, since the company in 2016 said it was pivoting its strategy to depend less on PCs and more on cloud, IoT and data center.

Over the past year, top-level executives including former Client Computing Group senior vice president Kirk Skaugen have left the company, while others, including channel head CJ Bruno and former IoT Group head Doug Davis, have moved from existing positions to other areas of the company.

In February, the COO for Intel's Client and Internet of Things businesses, Kim Stevenson, left the company. Most recently, in May, Intel said that Data Center head Diane Bryant is taking a leave of absence from the company and will be replaced by Client Computing Group executive Navin Shenoy.