Arvind Sodhani will retire as head of Intel Capital, semiconductor technology company Intel’s corporate venturing unit, in January 2016, the company announced today.
Sodhani, who won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Global Corporate Venturing Symposium in June this year, joined Intel in 1981 and helped form Intel Capital, one of the earliest dedicated corporate venturing units, in 1991, before taking over as president in 2005.
Intel Capital has invested more than $11.4bn in a total of over 1,400 companies since its formation through a range of funds, the most recent of which, the $125m Intel Capital Diversity Fund, was formed last month.
The unit’s portfolio over the years has included software producers Citrix and VMware, data storage technology provider Box, e-commerce company Snapdeal and Research in Motion, the handheld device maker now known as Blackberry.
Wendell Brooks, Intel’s president of mergers and acquisitions, will take over from Sodhani as president of Intel Capital, effectively merging the activities of both teams under a single figure.
Brian Krzanich, chief executive of Intel, said in a letter to employees today: “I am merging the mergers and acquisitions and strategic transactions group with the Intel Capital organisation under one leader to allow clear focus across all investment opportunities for Intel and our ecosystem.”
Sodhani and Brooks will continue to run their respective teams until September when they are merged. The two will jointly manage the merged unit until Sodhani retires next year.
The merging of the departments is one of several changes announced by Krzanich today, among the most prominent being that Intel president Renée James will step down to take on a CEO role at an as yet undisclosed company.
– Photo of Arvind Sodhani courtesy of Intel