Intel’s Global Policy Exec, Ex-Sales Head Greg Pearson Retires: CRN Exclusive

Intel Global Policy Officer Greg Pearson, who was previously the company's top sales and marketing executive, retired this month after working there for 35 years, Intel confirmed to CRN Friday.

His last day at the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company was Wednesday, according to an internal memo sent to employees and obtained by CRN. Intel said it will consider internal and external roles to replace Pearson. CRN has reached out to Pearson for comment.

Pearson was named global policy officer at the beginning of this year after he relinquished his role as senior vice president and general manager of Intel's sales and marketing group in 2017. He had held the role since 2013, which had put him at the top of Intel's channel leadership. The role was taken over by Michelle Johnston Holthaus, who received a promotion this year.

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As 35-year veteran of Intel, Pearson had held several channel-related positions since 2003, including as vice president and general manager of sales and marketing for Intel's Client Computing Group. While he was Intel's top sales executive, he had been credited with playing a critical role in creating flexible platforms to help channel partners adapt to Intel's newer businesses, such as Internet of Things and 5G.

Pearson joined Intel in 1983 through the company's Sales and Marketing Rotation Program as a technical sales engineer, according to the internal memo. He spent most of his career in the company's sales organization, including stints as president of Intel Japan and managing director of the European sales team. In 2008, he returned stateside to lead Intel's Worldwide Sales and Operations Group.

In his role as global policy officer, Pearson was the head of Intel's Corporate and Government Affairs, where he served as the company's lead advocate for policymaking across the world.

"Together we ensure Intel has a voice where it counts, maintaining our status as a tech pioneer by working with policymakers and other partners in the public sector to pursue the most effective rollout and utilization of groundbreaking technologies," he wrote on his LinkedIn page.

In a Nov. 5 article published on LinkedIn, Pearson wrote that despite the current political divisions in the U.S., policymakers can still come together to support important technology measures. He cited the Trump administration and members of both parties in Congress recently signaling their support for research and development funds for high performance computing and quantum information science.

"These are good first steps, but more importantly, they also indicate progress that Washington can build upon," he said. "Through patient, sustained and bipartisan support, the federal government can continue to play a key role in our ongoing technological revolution."