Qualcomm Names Cristiano Amon as CEO, Succeeding Steve Mollenkopf

By Asa Fitch

Mobile-phone chip giant Qualcomm Inc. on Tuesday named Cristiano Amon to become its new chief executive as it puts a chain of legal struggles behind it and aims to capitalize on rising demand for superfast 5G phones.

As Qualcomm's president, Mr. Amon, 50, has been the public face of the company's efforts to become a central supplier in the shift to 5G, winning business with Apple Inc., building on its share of the Chinese handset market and moving into new areas like chips for autonomous cars. He is set to take over on June 30, the company said.

Mr. Amon succeeds Steve Mollenkopf, 52, who was promoted from president to CEO in 2014 and led the company through several years of unprecedented challenges. They included a long-running legal struggle with Apple over Qualcomm's patent-licensing practices, an antitrust case brought by the Federal Trade Commission, repelling an activist investor, averting a hostile takeover and having a $44 billion acquisition scrapped amid U.S.-China political tensions.

Write to Asa Fitch at asa.fitch@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 05, 2021 08:40 ET (13:40 GMT)

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