Qualcomm Chief Financial Officer Departs For Rival Intel

Intel has poached the chief financial officer from rival Qualcomm to fill the seat left vacant after its own head of finance, Bob Swan, was elevated to CEO earlier this year.

Qualcomm beat its bigger rival to the punch late on Tuesday to announce the departure of George Davis, 61, who had been with the company for six years. It added that Dave Wise, a senior vice president and the company’s treasurer, would take over the CFO role while it searches for a permanent replacement.

Intel later confirmed the move, and said Mr Davis would start in his new role as its CFO and executive vice president on Wednesday.

The move to Intel will put Mr Davis in the spotlight at a time when Wall Street is hoping for greater financial discipline at the chip giant. After a period of expensive diversification that has taken it into a range of new products and markets, investors have been hoping that Intel will narrow its investment focus and train its capital spending onto fewer bets – an expectation that now falls on Mr Davis.

Mr Swan signalled his awareness of those hopes, saying of Mr Davis’ appointment: “Our owners can expect a continued disciplined approach to capital allocation and a relentless focus on creating stockholder value.”

The former Qualcomm executive already has close personal experience of working with his new boss. He was previously chief financial officer for Applied Materials, the producer of chipmaking equipment, at a time when Mr Swan sat on the company’s board and acted as head of its audit committee.―Financial Times