Steve Mollenkopf was named CEO oof Qualcomm after a report surfaced that he was on the shortlist of candidates for the next Microsoft's CEO.
Mollenkopf was formerly COO of Qualcomm, but Friday morning the company announced he would become president and CEO. The move came shortly after a Bloomberg report cited "people familiar with the matter" who said the 44-year-old was possibly in line to become Microsoft's next CEO, replacing Steve Ballmer. Mollenkopf is set to start as CEO of Qualcomm in March 2014. Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm's current CEO, will become executive chairman of the company.
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Microsoft is expected to announce a new CEO before the end of the year. Others in the running for that position include current Ford CEO Alan Mulally.
Mollenkopf joined Qualcomm nearly 20 years ago and has held a variety of management positions. Under his leadership, the company also became the world's largest chipset supplier and one of the top innovators in LTE technology. Under Mollenkopf, the company also completed the acquisition of semiconductur maker Atheros. That $3.1 billion purchase was Qualcomm's largest to date.
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