Info Tech
Intel picks insider as CEO
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK – Intel Corp chose veteran insider Brian Krzanich as chief executive, disappointing some investors who hoped an outsider would push for aggressive changes to help the world’s largest chipmaker catch up in the mobile revolution.
The company also announced on Thursday that software honcho Renée James, 48, had been elevated to the post of president. Her appointment signaled to some that Intel, while likely intending to stick with its formula of intense investment to keep it ahead in the microchip technology game, is willing to explore new growth areas.
The company said last November that it might go external for its next CEO, raising hopes that it might find someone to shake it out of recent doldrums.
Seen as a front runner for the job since November, Krzanich inherits a company with margins of almost 60 percent that has all but extinguished rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc in the past few years, and is now the dominant maker of microprocessors for computers and servers.
But the company is in danger of finding itself sidelined as mobile devices such as tablets and ever more powerful smartphones accelerate a contraction of the personal computer market. The majority of gadgets today run processors based on rival ARM Holdings Plc’s power-saving chip architecture.
“An external candidate might have been a better choice – with no negative reflection on Brian – simply because of the juncture Intel is at with what’s happening in the PC market and the need to take major action outside of PCs,” said Cody Acree, an analyst at Williams Financial Group.
“Brian may very well come in and make those same very difficult dramatic choices, but it’s less likely.”
He will take on the top job at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on May 16, replacing Paul Otellini.
A relative unknown outside the tight-knit semiconductor industry, Krzanich has worked at Intel since 1982, rising to chief operating officer just over a year ago.
The 52-year-old has earned a reputation for being a decisive leader who liked to keep a low profile. Intel on Thursday stressed that he will have a strong partner in James, who in 2011 spearheaded Intel’s $7.7 billion acquisition of No. 2 security software firm McAfee Inc.
She ran software product and service sales as well as a team of engineers focused on improving the performance of Microsoft Corp’s Windows 8 and Google Inc’s Android software when run on the company’s microchips.
Her elevation “puts emphasis on the many businesses Intel is in beyond just chips. This is an important promotion, and it clearly signals the board wants to make Intel a much broader company,” said Jack Gold, who runs research outfit Jack Gold Associates.
Intel shares closed 0.5 percent higher at $24.11 on the Nasdaq on Thursday.
CRUCIAL TIME
Intel’s board took six months to deliberate on who could best helm a company with deep roots in Silicon Valley and computing history. The company today rakes in more than $50 billion in annual sales and runs manufacturing facilities across the globe.
Over the past few months, media reports have mentioned several possible external candidates including Sanjay Jha, former head of Motorola’s mobile device division.
Intel Chairman Andy Bryant said Krzanich is capable of effecting a transformational move. But he also said Krzanich and James made for an “extremely powerful” partnership, and that the pair had co-developed a long-term strategic vision for the company that won the board over.
“They formed a partnership through the last few months that has blossomed into an extremely powerful pair,” he said.
“You’ll see a fairly dramatic change over a period of time,” Bryant told Reuters in an interview. “If you look at Intel’s past, with every CEO we’ve had that.”
Krzanich’s appointment comes at a crucial time for the company, which is gearing up for a transition in manufacturing processes to larger, 450 millimeter wafers, a gradual migration that may eventually trim production costs but which requires spending billions of dollars to upgrade facilities.
And it is scrambling to finalize and launch next-generation processors – code-named “Haswell” – that it hopes will cut down on power consumption and close the gap with ARM-based rival chips, popular among mobile users who prioritize battery life.
A chemical engineer by training who went to school in Northern California, Krzanich started with Intel in New Mexico as a process engineer before moving on to a series of factory management positions. He holds a patent for semiconductor processing and sits on the board of an industry association.
He told Biztellers in a 2012 interview his best work during his three-decade career included shortening turnaround times in the chipmaker’s factories.
Intel announced in November that it was looking for a new CEO as Otellini announced plans to retire.
The Santa Clara, California, company came under fire during Otellini’s tenure for missing out on the mobile revolution, while underestimating the scale of the eventual drop-off in personal computer demand. The company, which once said emerging markets could offset a dropoff in developed-world demand, orchestrated a push on pricey “Ultrabook” laptops that has so far failed to excite consumers.
Last month, Intel warned that current-quarter revenue would fall as much as 8 percent, given the drop in PC sales. The company affirmed its full-year revenue growth target, but analysts think that forecast will be hard to hit.
“Some investors preferred an external option on the belief that new blood was needed,” said Raymond James analyst Hans Mosesmann.
But “the appointment is an indication that Intel will continue Paul Otellini’s strategy of building bigger, better fabs to attack the market.”
In efforts at spicing up the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue, the management of ITREALMS Media has partnered with E-waste Producer Responsibility Organization of Nigeria (EPRON) membership organisations for a day-long collection scheme of small electronic waste on Friday, December 15, 2023.
The EPRON members aligning their partnership with 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue are EL-AS Tech Enterprises Limited and WEEE Eco-Friendly.
ITREALMS’ day-long collection scheme is part of the commemoration of 2023 international E-Waste Day (IEWD) within the ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue with the theme “You Can Recycle Anything with a plug, battery or cable” at Welcome Centre Hotels, International Airport Road, Lagos.
Revealing this collaboration, the Group Executive Editor, ITREALMS Media, the organisers of the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue, Sir. Remmy Nweke, urged mobile device enthusiasts to come along with their devices that have reached their end-of-life to the venue for proper disposition by professionals who would also be on grounds to address some topical issues.
The collection of small electronic wastes especially mobile phones and like-devices, would be carried out by EPRON member organisation, EL-AS Tech Enterprises Limited as facilitated by ITREALMS Media group as part of this year’s ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue on Friday, December 15, he added.
He disclosed that the exercise would commence at Welcome Centre Hotel by 9am till close of work hours the same day.
Nweke pointed out that the collection of small e-waste items would include mobile phones, pointers mouse, earpieces, rechargeable torches, phone chargers, to name a few.
Further, he said, that this initiative has become time-serving because some people may have missed any other opportunity before now for the year-long campaign, hence this awareness on e-Waste has to be continuous, “ITREALMS came up with this scheme.”
Nweke beckoned on Nigerians, especially mobile phone users, to leverage the opportunity in disposing of their mobile devices they no longer use, of course in exchange for a voucher or gift item.
In her reaction to this year’s day-long small waste collection, EPRON Executive Secretary, Mrs. Ibukun Faluyi, described the initiative as commendable, expressing confidence it would intensify the collection of end-of-life devices for proper disposition.
Mrs. Faluyi, also urged Nigerians to take advantage of this day-long collection of small wastes courtesy of ITREALMS Media.
Recalling for instance that in October 2022, EPRON had partnered SLOT alongside some UN agencies for collection of small e-waste items in Lagos, including the United Nations Information Centres (UNIC), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), International Labour Organisation (ILO), Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
This is even as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Dr. Aminu Maida and Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Prof. Aliyu Jauro, would both lead speakers at the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue slated for this Friday, December 15, in Lagos.
Today, September 12, the tech corporation Apple will introduce the iPhone 15, their newest iPhone model.
According to a Forbes story, this model, which will be introduced at the company’s “Wanderlust” event in Cupertino, California, will be available in four variations: the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Here are five things you should know about the new iPhone 15 model.
1. The new model is made of titaniu, not stainless steel as some other Apple smartphone models, Senior research analyst at DIGITIMES, Luke Lin reports.
2. The Pro Max model will feature double the optical zoom on the iPhone 14 as it comes with a newly-introduced ‘periscope lens upgrade, performing 5-6x optical zoom.’
3. The Pro models will carry an A17 bionic chip expected to make it perform faster.
4. The iPhone 15 model will feature a USB-C charging port, the same port featured on some Android phone models.
5. Due to its titanium shell, the new model is anticipated to be more expensive to purchase. The following is the speculated price list, as reported by Forbes:
The iPhone 15 starts at $799, the iPhone 15 Plus at $899, the iPhone 15 Pro at $1,099 ($100 increase), and the iPhone 15 Pro Max at $1,299 ($200 increase).
In an effort to reduce the exorbitant cost of Premium Motor Spirit, better known as petrol, the Infrastructure Bank Plc announced its collaboration with FEMADEC Group on Monday to offer 500 buses powered by autogas (Compressed Natural Gas).
Partners in the agreement claimed that the project was created to provide citizens with dependable, affordable, and environmentally friendly travel options, taking into account the negative effects of the nationwide increase in PMS costs.
Under Decree No. 51 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1992 Constitution, the Infrastructure Bank, originally known as the Urban Development Bank of Nigeria Plc, was founded in 1992 to promote the quick development of infrastructure throughout the nation.
In a statement issued in Abuja on its partnership with FEMADEC, the bank said, “The preliminary offer extended by TIB lays a solid foundation for the expansion of FEMADEC Group’s CNG bus fleet.
“With plans to introduce 500 CNG buses within the next five years, commencing with an initial batch of 50 buses in the forthcoming year, this proposal stands poised to instigate significant change.
“The acceptance of this proposition by FEMADEC Group, notably championed by Fola Akinnola, the Group Chief Executive Officer, is a testament to their zeal and dedication to this alliance.”
The bank described the partnership as a “pivotal endeavour that is primed to redefine Nigeria’s public transportation landscape, offering dependable, cost-effective, and ecologically conscious travel alternatives for citizens, while harmonising with the nation’s broader sustainability ambitions.”
“This partnership represents a remarkable stride towards a more ecologically aware future for Nigeria’s transportation sector, highlighting the shared commitment of both TIB and FEMADEC Group to sustainable advancement and progress.”
It said FEMADEC Group’s strides in operating Compressed Natural Gas buses, including the existing fleet of 20 CNG buses under LAMATA, underscored their unwavering dedication to ecologically sound solutions, a commitment predating the fuel subsidy removal.
“Their leadership within the CNG value chain is undeniable, and the new alliance with TIB underscores their foresight.
“This partnership seamlessly aligns with TIB’s sustainability objectives, echoing their resolute endorsement of the government’s net-zero and climate change agenda.
“The bank’s aspiration to champion Nigeria’s infrastructure progress is evident in its endorsement of pivotal initiatives like this, yielding expansive positive impacts on both the environment and society,” the bank stated.
The bank added that it would continue to make a significant contribution to the country’s growth as a leading financial institution committed to advancing effective and long-lasting infrastructure projects.
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