Qualcomm Taps Former Intel Exec As Head Of Marketing

Chandrasekher, who is coming off a 25-year stint at Intel where he most recently headed the company’s Ultra Mobility Group, will oversee Qualcomm’s global marketing and external communications, reporting to President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Mollenkopf. He will primarily be tasked with helping Qualcomm, which currently fuels hundreds smartphones with its Snapdragon mobile processors, reach into new markets, such as notebooks and convertible PCs.

"I am pleased to welcome Anand Chandrasekher as chief marketing officer," Mollenkopf said in the statement. "His extensive experience in marketing and management makes Anand well-suited to help grow Qualcomm’s communications and marketing efforts across the world and to amplify our consumer offerings to new audiences."

[Related: Samsung, Qualcomm Form New Wireless Charging Venture ]

Qualcomm plans to make a big push into the consumer PC market this fall with the launch of Microsoft’s upcoming operating system Windows 8. In an April interview with CRN, the chip maker said its latest Snapdragon S4 chips will be used by OEMs to build a broad range of Windows 8 devices, including tablets and traditional notebook PCs.

"What’s key for us is that we are providing a piece of technology that OEMs can then do things with," said Tim McDonough, vice president of marketing at Qualcomm. "You can build anything that your heart desires or anything that the OEMs think will drive uniqueness or value for them. With that chip [the Snapdragon S4], they could build clam shells, they could build a tablet, they could build a convertible [PC], they could build a smartphone – really, any of the above."

Qualcomm's new focus on personal computing devices will pit the San Diego-based company and its ARM-based processors directly against x86-based chip makers Intel and AMD, which have also revealed plans to go to market with Windows 8 laptops and tablets this fall.

While at Intel, Chandrasekher played a heavy hand in the rollout of the chip giant’s Atom family of processors used in tablets, notebooks and smartphones. Before overseeing the company’s Ultra Mobility Unit, he was head of Intel’s Worldwide Sales and Marketing Group, corporate vice president of Intel’s Mobile Platforms Group, and co-general manager of the Intel486 Processor Division.

PUBLISHED AUG. 6, 2012