Intel CTO Extracts Value from Acquisitions

A Red Herring article in 2002 implied that Intel needed a CTO because they had made a mess of their business situation through multiple acquisitions and had to call on someone to turn those acquisitions into a profitable and integrated business.

"Mr. Gelsinger will help manage a $4 billion research-and-development budget as Intel tries to navigate the complex and increasingly unstable terrain of computing, networking, and communications. He has to extract viable businesses from Intel's mess of acquisitions."

However, it is more important to recognize that the benefit of a CTO is in extracting value from technology, regardless of whether it was acquired or invented in-house.

Red Herring is on target when they point out that growth, acquisition, and research in all directions as fast as possible is a luxury that cannot be sustained indefinitely. Eventually you will have to bet on products that you can market and retreat from technology that is not leading anywhere.


Web Source: Red Herring, January 21, 2002