“Warren East, who led ARM Holdings from start-up to near monopoly designer of smartphone chips, with its processors at the heart of Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy, is to step down as chief executive after 12 years,” Rosalba O’Brien reports for Reuters.
“Current group president Simon Segars will replace 51-year-old East from July, the British company said on Tuesday,” O’Brien reports. “East, who trained as an engineer, said it was time to move on but gave few clues on why he was leaving.”
O’Brien reports, “In Cambridge, ARM has been at the heart of the so-called ‘Silicon Fen’, a cluster of high-tech firms at the southern tip of the English Fenland, about an hour’s drive north of London. Founded in 1990, ARM now employs 2,300 people, with 2013 revenues forecast at around $1.03 billion. ‘We’ve built a global company based here in the UK, proving it can be done in technology, and I intend to do a bit more of that,’ said East, who eschews the casual clothes and colourful style of California’s Silicon Valley in favour of smart suits and a sober manner. He said it was too early to talk about his next move, but that another executive role was unlikely in the short term.”
Read more in the full article here.
“I have a gazillion dollars and I want to live my life independently and free of the hassles of work.”
ARM is making way too little money given how important they are in consumer electronics. Their revenue and profits are just 2 % of Intel’s, even though ARM’s markets like smartphones, tablets and millions of other smart devices are bringing in a lot more money nowadays than Intel’s traditional strongholds of PCs and Servers. Maybe the new CEO’s first task is to raise license fees.
They design but do not manufacture. Therefore they can only charge for what they provide.