By Don Clark
Intel Corp. is reorganizing operations responsible for helping
move the company into new products, a move expected to change the
role of a prominent executive who led the chip maker's push into
wearable devices.
The Silicon Valley giant has established what it calls the new
technology group, which combines a number of research and
product-development efforts into a single organization, an Intel
spokeswoman said.
Intel's new unit would encompass operations formerly carried out
by the company's new devices group, the spokeswoman said. That
group's general manager was Mike Bell, a vice president who is
known for stints helping lead product development at Apple Inc. and
Palm Inc. before joining Intel in 2010.
Mr. Bell--who has appeared at industry events to show off
products like smartwatches and eyewear powered by Intel
technology--will assume an unspecified new role as a result of the
reorganization, the spokeswoman said.
The wearables push has been one of the most visible priorities
under Brian Krzanich, who became Intel's chief executive in May
2013. Intel famously failed to get its chips into many smartphones
and the initial wave of tablets, and Mr. Krzanich has expressed
determination to get in early on the wearables market.
Intel's new technology group would be led by Joshua Walden, a
senior vice president and Intel veteran who previously shared
oversight over the company's platform development group, the
spokeswoman said.
The group would incorporate what Intel had called its new
business initiatives group, or NBI, which helped spur the creation
of products outside of the company's core chip operations. Bringing
all such operations into one unit "will help to drive greater
synergies," the spokeswoman said.
Roger Kay, an analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates, said
Intel's efforts in wearable devices have attracted attention, but
haven't generated much in the way of revenues yet.
"When companies move things around, typically it means they are
not happy with how things are going," he said.
The changes leave another senior vice president, Amir Faintuch,
as the sole general manager of Intel's platform development group.
The recent recruit from Intel rival Qualcomm Inc. is seen by
analysts as a key force to help Intel become more competitive in
multifunction products--also known as systems on a chip--that are
popular in smartphones and other hardware.
Write to Don Clark at don.clark@wsj.com
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