Intel CEO Brian Krzanich resigns after 'consensual relationship with an Intel employee'

Nathan Bomey | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Intel CEO steps down after 'romantic relationship' with employee Intel CEO Brian Krzanich resigned after a "romantic relationship" with an employee came to light.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich resigned suddenly after a "past consensual relationship with an Intel employee" came to light, the company said Thursday.

His unexpected exit comes after internal and external investigations ordered by the chipmaker "confirmed a violation of Intel’s non-fraternization policy, which applies to all managers," Intel said.

"Given the expectation that all employees will respect Intel’s values and adhere to the company’s code of conduct," the company added, "the board has accepted Mr. Krzanich’s resignation."

Robert Swan, 58, Intel's chief financial officer and a board member of eBay, was named Intel's interim CEO.

Details of Krzanich's relationship were not immediately disclosed, including the identity of his romantic partner.

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His departure comes in the midst of the #MeToo movement and amid heightened scrutiny of workplace relationships between powerful corporate executives and their colleagues. About 99 percent of organizations with workplace romance policies ban relationships between supervisors and people who report to them, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.

Corporate managers must refrain from relationships with their subordinates, said Kate Bischoff, an employment attorney and HR consultant for tHRive Law & Consulting LLC. Those relationships inevitably raise concerns about favoritism, retaliation or other misconduct.

"If you’re the CEO, you shouldn’t have a relationship with anybody in your organization because of the power dynamic that exists,” Bischoff said. “The potential for problems to arise is significant.”

Intel declined to make Krzanich available to comment.

Krzanich became Intel's sixth CEO in May 2013 after a stint as chief operating officer. His career at the company dates to 1982.

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As CEO, he tried to guide the tech giant along a growth path predicated on big data and self-driving cars. Last year, he led the company's $15 billion acquisition of autonomous vehicle chipmaker Mobileye.

Under his leadership, Intel has pushed hard into drones, virtual reality and the connected devices known as the Internet of Things.

In August 2017, he became one of the first CEOs to resign from President Donald Trump's manufacturing council following the president's response to a white nationalists' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

But he also had to grapple with security flaws in Intel's consumer device chips. He announced in January that the company would update its last five years of chips after concerns about their vulnerability to hacking emerged.

Intel's stock fell more than 2 percent to $52.19 in midday trading Thursday.

“The board believes strongly in Intel’s strategy and we are confident in Bob Swan’s ability to lead the company as we conduct a robust search for our next CEO," Andy Bryant, Intel's chairman, said in a statement. "We know the company will continue to smoothly execute," he continued. "We appreciate Brian’s many contributions."

Although disruptive, Krzanich's exit is not considered to be a huge financial or strategic setback.

"We view Intel as a process driven company with a deep bench of CEO candidates that can continue to drive the corporate strategy," Stifel analyst Kevin Cassidy wrote.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.

Contributing: Edward C. Baig in New York.