Intel is restructuring its operations for the goal of leading into new products, which is now resulting into reshuffling the role of the prominent executive who lead the its efforts into wearable devices, according to The WSJ. The chip maker has come up with a new technology group that now has combined a number of research and product development efforts into a single organization, according to Intel.
Reshuffling of executives’ roles
Intel further noted that the new unit will handle all the responsibilities carried out by the company’s new devices group. Mike Bell, who is known for his tenure as a lead in product development at Apple and Palm before coming to Intel in 2010, was the team leader of the device group. Bell, who keeps showing up for industry events such as launching new products like smartwatches and eyewear powered by Intel’s chips, will be a given a role which is yet undecided, Intel said.
Joshua Walden, a senior vice president and Intel veteran who also provided assistance in the company’s platform development group, will head the technology group. The group will include what Intel called its new business initiatives group, or NBI, which supported the creation of the products outside the company’s core chip operations. Integrating various operations into one unit “will help to drive greater synergies,” said the chip maker.
Also as a result of the change, Senior Vice President Amir Faintuch is now the sole manager of Intel’s platform development group.
Intel focusing on wearables
For now, wearables are one of the most challenging areas for CEO Brian Krzanich. The chip maker could not convince most of the smartphone makers to pack its chip in their phones and tablets, and therefore, Krzanich decided to hit the wearable market.
Roger Kay, an analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates, noted that the efforts of wearable devices have gained a lot of attention but so far have failed to generate much of revenue. “When companies move things around, typically it means they are not happy with how things are going,” he said.
The new changes are in line with the plans laid by Krzanich. In a recent interview with Mad Money host Jim Cramer, the CEO said Intel wants to prove to people that it is an innovation engine, adding that the company needs to move faster.
