Intel CEO Brian Krzanich Resigns over a Consensual Relationship

• An internal investigation in Intel revealed that CEO Brian Krzanich violated the company’s non-fraternization policy.
• Krzanich left Intel at a critical juncture when the company was transitioning from mobile to cloud and AI.
• CFO Robert Swan steps up as an interim CEO, while Intel looks into its permanent options.

The 58-year-old CEO of Intel was forced to resign from its post after an internal investigation. The investigation revealed that Brian Krzanich was in a consensual relationship with an employee. Intel justifies this resignation by stating that the relationship was against the company’s non-fraternization policy.

For now, Robert Swan, the chief financial officer of Intel, fills the position of CEO. But, it’s a transitory move, and soon the board will appoint a new face for the position.

As per the policy, the managers of the company cannot have a relationship with an employee-anyone who directly or indirectly reports to them. According to CNBC, the relationship took place some time back and ended before the internal investigation took place. This was against the Intel’s official code of conduct, which is expected to be valued and adhered by an employee. It is unclear who Krzanich had a relationship with, as the information is meticulously kept away from the Media.

Another shocking side of this equation is his last year’s compensation, which topped over $21 million. Apart from this, Intel’s filings claim that the company also paid for his residential security and transportation.

This wasn’t the first time that Krzanich was under the media' lens. Last year both Intel and Krzanich were involved in a controversy over a critical CPU vulnerabilities known as Meltdown and Spectre. Subsequently, Krzanich sold the maximum amount of share he was allowed to at that point in time, which accumulated to $39 million. Although, Intel later announced that the sales were unrelated to the vulnerabilities and it was a part of a mechanism which helps corporate insiders with trading predetermined numbers of shares.

Krzanich held the Intel’s CEO position in 2013 and has spent almost 35 years with the organization, out of which most was spent on operations. In 2013, the company appointed Krzanich to hand him a messy task of pushing Intel to cloud and AI. In last five years, he graciously fought Intel’s decline in the new growing market, and at the same time, tried his best to position Intel for future.

"The board believes strongly in Intel’s strategy and we are confident in Bob Swan’s ability to lead the company as we conduct a robust search for our next CEO. Bob has been instrumental in the development and execution of Intel’s strategy, and we know the company will continue to smoothly execute. We appreciate Brian’s many contributions to Intel," said Intel Chairman Andy Bryant.

It will be very interesting to see how the market would react to this news. We have already noticed a quick 2% down in Intel's shares right after this announcement. The company is seemingly matching to Microsoft' position before Nadella became the CEO. Intel apparently needs its own Nadella right now to save itself from controversies and consistent decline.

While the company is moving forward to get its share on Cloud and AI technologies, Intel will also need a visionary leader who would make the quest possible.

Do you think it was a right move by Intel to accept the resignation of Brian Krzanich? Do let us know in the comments. Get instant updates on TechNadu’s Facebook page, or Twitter handle.