Swan becomes Intel’s interim CEO following Krzanich’s resignation

The board of directors of Intel Corporation has named Robert Swan, it’s chief financial officer as the interim chief executive officer, effective immediately.

The announcement is coming on the heels of Brian Krzanich’s resignation as CEO and a member of the company’s board of directors.

According to a statement from Intel, Krzanich was forced to resign for having a past consensual relationship with an Intel employee.

“An ongoing investigation by internal and external counsel has confirmed a violation of Intel’s non-fraternization policy, which applies to all managers. Given the expectation that all employees will respect Intel’s values and adhere to the company’s code of conduct, the board has accepted Mr. Krzanich’s resignation,” The statement partly read.

Andy Bryant, the company’s chairman is also quoted to have said that “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.”

Also raising earnings guidance for the year, Intel says it expects to deliver a record second quarter, with revenues of approximately $16.9 billion and non-GAAP EPS of approximately $0.99.

“With accelerating data-centric revenue, the company is off to an excellent start in the first half of the year and expects 2018 to be another record year.

Intel will provide full second-quarter results and an updated outlook for the full year on the second-quarter earnings call on July 26.”

As interim CEO, Swan will manage 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 organizations.

He previously spent nine years as CFO of eBay Inc. Earlier, he was CFO of Electronic Data Systems Corp. and TRW Inc. He has also served as CEO of Webvan Group Inc.

Swan, the newly appointed CEO says he is optimistic about his appointment, “Intel’s transformation to a data-centric company is well under way and our team is producing great products, excellent growth and outstanding financial results. I look forward to Intel continuing to win in the marketplace,” Swan said.

The board 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 the process.