Last month, Qualcomm representative Anand Chandrasekher called Apple’s new 64-bit A7 chip a “gimmick.” It was a hugely stupid thing to say, leading to Qualcomm actually correcting Chandrasekher’s remarks. But it also might have killed Chandrasekher’s career, at least in part, as the former chief marketing officer seems to have been sent into exile within the company.
In a statement to CNET, a Qualcomm representative said: “Anand Chandrasekher, is moving to a new role leading our exploration of certain enterprise related initiatives…Anand will continue to report to Steve Mollenkopf, COO and President of Qualcomm. This will be effective immediately.”
This is corporate speak. Essentially, what Qualomm is saying is that Chandrasekher would have been fired for his remarks, but they can’t, so they’ve demoted him to some shitty position within the company until he resigns.
Why is Qualcomm getting so bent out of shape about Chandrasekher’s comments? Essentially, because he threw his own company under the bus. 64-bit is the future of mobile ARM-based chips, and Qualcomm is going to start making the very type of chip that Chandrasekher just called a gimmick, probably within the next year. The former chief marketing officer had described the very technology Qualcomm’s future business would depend upon as not worth taking seriously.
Chandrasekher’s job was to promote Qualcomm. Saying Qualcomm’s future chips are a “gimmick” is just completely inept. Qualcomm’s right: the guy should be fired.
Data source: via CultofMac (ByJohn Brownlee) [Cnet]
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