Intel CEO resigns after ‘consensual relationship’ with employee

Intel Corporation has announced the resignation of Brian Krzanich as CEO and as a member of the board of directors, after it was discovered that Krzanich was engaging in a relationship with an employee.

In Krzanich's place, Intel's board has named chief financial officer Robert Swan as interim chief executive officer, effective immediately.

Intel says it was recently informed that Krzanich had a past consensual relationship with an Intel employee, with an ongoing investigation by internal and external counsel confirming that the relationship violated Intel's non-fraternization policy, which applies to all managers.

The company says it has an expectation that all employees respect Intel's values and adhere to the company's code of conduct, and has thus accepted Krzanich's resignation.

Intel chairman Andy Bryant says, "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 to 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.

Krzanich has served as CEO of Intel since May 2013 and has been credited for guiding the company through a transformative period during his tenure, leading the company's charge into things like cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Intel's board says it has a robust succession planning process in place and has begun a search for a permanent CEO, including both internal and external candidates.

The board will retain a 'leading' executive search firm to assist in this process.

In replacing Krzanich as interim CEO, Robert Swan will responsible for managing operations in close collaboration with Intel's senior leadership team.

Swan has been Intel's CFO since October 2016 and leads the global finance, IT and corporate strategy organisations.

He previously spent nine years as CFO of eBay and has served as CFO for both Electronic Data Systems and TRW. He has also served as CEO of Webvan Group.

On his promotion, Swan says, "Intel's transformation to a data-centric company is well underway and our team is producing great products, excellent growth and outstanding financial results.

"I look forward to Intel continuing to win in the marketplace.