Qualcomm announced Wednesday it’s elevating Qualcomm Technologies Executive Vice President Cristiano R. Amon to President of the tech giant’s parent company Qualcomm Inc. Mr. Amon will formally assume his new responsibilities on January 4th and the role will still require him to oversee the technological arm of the San Diego, California-based company, yet he’ll also be responsible for drafting and executing more general strategies meant to improve Qualcomm’s existing businesses and create new ones. As was the case so far, Mr. Amon will still be reporting directly to Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Steve Mollenkopf and no new EVP will be named to replace his old role which he’ll continue to fill, albeit with a new title and extra responsibilities.
The move is seen as a necessary one as Qualcomm is set to be left without its existing President Derek Aberle who’s set to officially leave the company on December 31st, four months after announcing his departure. While Mr. Amon spent 22 years at Qualcomm holding a broad range of positions, it remains to be seen how effectively he’ll replace the departing President whose vast patent law experience allowed him to personally oversee the company’s many legal disputes across the world, including the high-profile one with Apple that’s still in the process of unraveling. Unlike his predecessor, Mr. Amon is an electrical engineer by trade, though one with a strong business background who previously worked at Ericsson and Brazilian wireless carrier Vésper, among other companies in the industry. He’ll now be expected to bring his management to the next level and lead Qualcomm to further innovation across a variety of sectors during a relatively busy time for the company that’s presently in the process of driving 5G advancements while simultaneously pursuing new and existing opportunities in the automotive, IoT, and mobile segments.
Besides the industry itself, Qualcomm’s attention is currently also placed on its efforts to resist a proxy takeover attempt from Broadcom which launched an unsolicited $105 billion bid (excluding debt) for the company this fall. After being unanimously rejected by the company’s board which said the offer is too low and comes with major regulatory concerns, Broadcom named its own nominees that Qualcomm’s investors will be able to vote onto the board in March, though it’s currently unclear whether the majority of them will be willing to do so.