Maloney to head Intel China, will oversee strategy

Intel Corp Executive Vice President Sean Maloney will move to Beijing to take up the newly created position of chairman for Intel China, underscoring the country’s importance in fuelling sales growth.

Maloney, 54, will be responsible for overseeing the company’s strategy for China, said Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Intel, the world’s largest computer-chip maker.

“It’s unprecedented for us,” Mulloy said in a telephone interview. “We’ve never put someone at that high a level in another country.”

Maloney, who returned to work in January after recovering from a stroke he suffered 15 months ago, is being tapped to lead the company’s plans in a country that Intel predicts will become the world’s largest PC market next year. Intel’s chips are the main component of more than 80 per cent of the world’s computers.

“China is the primary focus for our industry,” said Jim McGregor, chief technology strategist for market researcher In- Stat in Scottsdale, Arizona. “China is not just important for PCs, but all the different markets that Intel is trying to get into.”