Former Intel CEO Bob Swan joins Andreessen Horowitz to do what he does best, drive growth in late-stage technology companies. The former eBay and General Electric CFO will be involved in carrying out mergers and acquisitions, and expansion activities besides growth investments.
Five months after Bob SwanOpens a new window left Intel’s top executive positionOpens a new window and approximately a year after NVIDIA edged out Intel as the most valuable American chipmaker, the former Intel CEO has found his footing at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Swan’s role at the silicon valley VC firm will be that of a Growth Operating Partner, tasked with operationalizing the go-to-market strategy of some of their most promising ventures.
More specifically, as a growth operating partner, Swan will help Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) to “identify and pursue new investments, serve on boards, and provide guidance and expertise to founders in our portfolio,†the firm said in a statementOpens a new window .
General partner at a16z David GeorgeOpens a new window during a press conference said, “Not only has Bob been a longtime friend and a mentor of mine, but he has had long-standing relationships with many of us at a16z, including working closely with the firm nearly ten years ago on the Skype acquisition deal.â€
We @a16zOpens a new window worked with @BobSwanOpens a new window more than 12 years as part of the Skype deal; very excited to be working together again.
— Scott Kupor (@skupor) July 19, 2021Opens a new window
He added, “As someone whose humility is unmatched among executives in our network, we are excited about the experience Bob brings to the firm, as well as his collaborative approach to work.â€
Work that will involve Swan tap into his decades of experience, in guiding a16z founders with organization-building, executive recruiting, devising the growth strategy of investments in an ever changing and dynamic technology sector that will eventually head for international expansion, counsel on mergers and acquisitions, and all other things business.
Background of Bob Swan
Swan is an experienced executive having held the Chief Financial Officer position across multiple companies, most of which belonged to the technology space. After a brief stint as the auditor for General Electric Corporate, he started off his CFO journey at GE Medical Systems in Europe, and later GE Lighting.
He also worked as a CFO at the online grocery delivery company WebvanOpens a new window that went bankrupt in the dot com bubble burst, the now defunct supplier of the auto parts and aerospace components TRWOpens a new window , computer service provider Electronic Data SystemsOpens a new window (also defunct, currently owned by DXC), and the popular online marketplace eBay, where he helped triple the company’s revenueOpens a new window during his stint.
Swan currently serves as a board member for eBay, where he also helped in several acquisitions as well as the PayPal spin offOpens a new window into a separate company.
He served as the operations partner at growth equity firm General Atlantic before joining Intel as the executive vice president and also taking up the CFO mantle. Swan’s rich background in managing the nuances of growth companies made him the ideal interim for Intel’s top job in 2018 when the then Intel CEO Brian KrzanichOpens a new window stepped down following revelations of his extramarital relationship with an Intel subordinate.
See Also: Could Red Hat Leader Jim Whitehurst’s Sudden Exit From IBM Backfire in the Long Run?
Swan’s Time at Intel
Swan was initially appointed as the interim CEO. Six months later in January 2019, he was named the permanent replacement for Krzanich, drawing doubts from analysts over not bringing in a technologist to steer a core technology company. A company which was already struggling to keep up with the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), NVIDIA, or even Samsung in the development of advanced, 7nm (or lesser) chips.
For instance, Samsung overtook IntelOpens a new window as the world’s largest chipmaker in 2018. The company even missed out on carving a slice for itself, from the pie baked in the mobile revolution in the past decade, losing out to Qualcomm.
Swan was expected to fix the manufacturing woes Intel was facing by improving supply chain execution while its competitors Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and NVIDIA relied on outsourcing the entire process. Unfortunately for Intel, Swan’s tenure saw the company receive multiple blows, one of which was losing the America’s most valuable chipmaker crown to NVIDIA.
Intel also lost $60 billion in market capitalization in 2020, a significant chunk of which resulted from the 16%+ dropOpens a new window in share prices due to the fact the company was 12 months behind scheduleOpens a new window to bring its 7 nm chip. At this point, Intel’s competitors were already looking at 5 nm.
Later in 2020, hedge fund Third Point CEO Daniel LoebOpens a new window urged the company to consider switching strategiesOpens a new window for chip design and manufacturing. Intel currently operates the two under one roof and is looking to expand production under the new CEO.
Moreover, the company further ran adrift, navigating troubled waters during Swan’s term when Apple decided to gradually transition its lineup of Mac computers and laptops toward its own silicon chipsOpens a new window , and away from those by Intel after a 15-year old partnership.
Swan was eventually ousted from Intel in January 2021 and replaced by former VMware CEO Pat GelsingerOpens a new window .
Prospects With Andreessen Horowitz
Considering a16z is not a nuts-and-bolts industrial tech multinational such as Intel, it makes sense to think that Swan would thrive at the firm. There’s no reason to believe that an exec with a finance background with leadership experience across consumer internet, B2B technology, and fintech companies won’t do well at a VC firm.
In the past, a16z has invested in companies such asOpens a new window Airbnb, Asana, Box, Facebook, Okta, Pinterest, Zynga, Coinbase, Slack, Instagram, and GitHub. a16z currently has $7.9 billion in regulatory assets under management across two growth funds and are designated for late-stage investments.
What an honor to have @BobSwanOpens a new window join @a16zOpens a new window ! The tremendous amount of experience and leadership he brings to our portfolio companies and the firm is game changing.
— Jason Mok (@jasonmok) July 19, 2021Opens a new window
Essentially, a16z is looking to break its coffers at the guidance of its advisors, one of whom will be Swan. Speaking with ForbesOpens a new window , Swan said, “We’ll figure out the individual companies along the way, but leveraging what Andreessen’s built, my skills, capabilities, scar tissue and focus areas on where I will have the biggest impact on founders is what we’ll figure out over the course of the next several weeks and months.â€
Closing Thoughts
Swan’s exit from Intel could have been conflicting if not for his graceful acceptance of Intel’s decision to replace him, which Loeb acknowledged on TwitterOpens a new window . All things considered, he could be remembered as the person who took the fall for decisions made years ago.
And in hindsight, Swan as the Intel CEO would’ve never worked out well keeping in mind the time he was given at the helm of Intel. Yes, sales of the semiconductor giant increased by $20 billion during his tenure but it is reasonable to believe that that was because of Intel’s position as one of the, if not the premier, global chipmakers.
His real talents should fit in well with a16z to push out the next unicorns through growth investments.
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