Intel's Sean Maloney to retire in January

Sean Maloney, Intel's executive vice president and chair of Intel China, has announced plans to retire in January after three decades at the company.

'I am very proud of my 30 years at Intel," claimed Maloney in a statement to press. 'Through those years I've had the honour of working with some of the most brilliant minds in the world, from Andy Grove to Paul Otellini, and on the most cutting-edge technology. I worked on three continents and saw the world as a representative of Intel. I saw firsthand the astonishing growth and potential of China and the Asian region.'

First picked up by Intel in 1982, Maloney has had a wide-ranging selection of job roles from managing the company's European applications engineering arm to a move into sales and marketing. After nine years of that, Intel spotted Maloney's talent and promoted him in 1992 to act as technical assistant to Andy Grove, the company's then-chair and chief executive.

In 1995, Maloney moved to Hong Kong to manage the company's sales and marketing activities in Asia following his - completely accurate - prediction that the market would prove a major growth area for Intel. In 1998, he moved back to the US to take over Intel's global sales arm, before shifting again three years later and becoming head of the Intel Communications Group. This later led to a co-management position in the Intel Mobility Group in 2004, before becoming the chair of Intel China and moving to Beijing.

A stroke in 2010 led to a medical leave of absence and problems with motor control and speech, but Maloney made a full recovery and has continued working at Intel. His decision to retire is not thought to be on grounds of ill-health.

'Intel will always be part of my life, and I feel privileged to have been one of the company's leaders,' Maloney added. 'I look forward to my retirement and spending more time with my family. Intel is full of the best and brightest people I have ever known.'

'Sean is a well-known visionary for Intel and the computing industry,' claimed Paul Otellini, president and chief executive of Intel, regarding Maloney's retirement. 'In the '90s he identified the impact Asia would have as a technology market as well as an innovation hub for the industry, and last year he unveiled Intel's efforts to re-invent computing with Ultrabook devices. He leaves a major mark on Intel and the industry, and I wish Sean and his family well as they move on to the next chapter in his life.'

At 61 years old, Otellini himself is facing imminent retirement in the next few years and, prior to today's announcement, Maloney was considered to be a strong contender for the role.