Arms Hands Board Seats To Intel And Qualcomm Alumni Ahead Of IPO

Softbank-owned chip designer Arm says it is preparing for its initial public offering (IPO) by adding former Intel and Qualcomm executives to its board.

The latest additions include Rosemary Schooler, a one-time corporate vice president and general manager for Intel's Data Center and AI sales division, and Paul Jacobs, chairman and CEO of XCOM Labs, who was also previously head at Qualcomm.

"The unique insights and depth of experience that Paul and Rosemary bring will help us expand and diversify the Board while providing enormous value to Arm at such a pivotal moment in our journey," said Arm CEO Rene Haas.

Jacobs was Qualcomm CEO from 2005 until 2014, taking the business from $5.67 billion in revenues to $26.48 billion. He was then chairman until 2018. Schooler spent more than three decades at Intel, starting out as a graduate engineer and taking various senior roles.

Haas said the pair would "strengthen our leadership position in the semiconductor ecosystems and prepare for the public markets."

Other recent board additions include Karen Dykstra, a former chief financial officer and administrative officer at AOL, and Jeff Sine, co-founder and partner of private equity investor Raine Group. Haas, Softbank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son, Tony Fadell and Ron Fisher round out the board.

Following the collapse of Arm's proposed sale to Nvidia, parent Softbank said it was intending to float Arm – most likely on the New York Stock Exchange – before March 31 2023.

Yet last month the chip designer confirmed to The Register the process was delayed amid uncertain times for tech stocks, slowing growth and a rising tide of redundancies.

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"Given the state of the financial markets, it is unlikely that Arm will list in Q1 of 2023. However, we are well advanced in our IPO readiness process and we remain fully committed to a 2023 listing," a spokesperson for Arm told us.

Arm has a special place in the heart of Son, and he said recently that he wants the chip designer to be his sole focus for the next few years. SoftBank intends to retain a stake in Arm.

Last month, Arm filed results for its Q2 ended 30 September, with total revenues down 16 percent to $655.85 million due to a 52 percent dive in licensing revenues. Royalty revenues – the strategic focus for the chip design company – jumped almost 22.5 percent. ®