Qualcomm promotes company veteran Cristiano R. Amon to president

In a particularly tumultuous period for Qualcomm, the company has appointed Cristiano R. Amon as president of the overall company.

Amon, 47, is a veteran employee of over 20 years, having started with the company in 1995 as an engineer. Over the past five years, Amon has been responsible for Qualcomm’s semiconductor business, first as co-president of QCT and a member of Qualcomm’s executive committee and then as president of QCT for the past two years. Amon will continue in his position as president of QCT, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Steve Mollenkopf.

“Cristiano’s unique mix of business, engineering and operational skills and experience make him ideally suited to continue driving Qualcomm’s technology and leadership positions across mobile, IoT, automotive, edge computing and networking – and lead the transition to 5G,” said Mollenkopf in a December 27th, 2017 media release.

Amon replaces Derek Aberle, who announced plans to leave his post as president in August 2017. Aberle became president of the company in 2014, after running Qualcomm’s patent licensing arm — which has recently been entwined in a fierce battle with Apple and several antitrust regulators.

Prior to starting at Qualcomm, the company reports Amon served as the chief technical officer of Vésper, a wireless operator in Brazil, and held positions at NEC, Ericsson and Velocom Inc.

Amon has a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Universidade Estadual de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.

There are quite a few issues awaiting Amon as he takes over the role of Qualcomm president. Beyond the legal feuds mentioned above, Amon is also facing a potential hostile takeover attempt from Broadcom. 

Image credit: Qualcomm

Source: Qualcomm Via: The San Diego Union-Tribune