Intel Corp. has promoted its COO Brian Krzanich to be the company's sixth CEO, following the November announcement by its current chief exec Paul Otellini that he will retire. Simultaneously, the company announced the appointment of Renée James, its head of software, to the role of president.

Krzanich and James are taking over the reins of a chip maker that still has a firm grip on the leadership in the data center marker but struggles to compete in the mobile-device space, where the majority of microprocessors used is made by licensees of the UK-based processor designer ARM Holdings.

Commenting on Krzanich's appointment, Intel chairman Andy Bryant acknowledged the quickly changing market Intel is facing today. “[Krzanich] has the right combination of knowledge, depth and experience to lead the company during this period of rapid technology and industry change,” he said.

The incoming CEO also described the next era of computing as one driven by mobile devices. “I look forward to working with our leadership team and employees worldwide to continue our proud legacy, while moving even faster into ultra-mobility, to lead Intel into the next era,” Krzanich said.

At 52, he has been at Intel for more than half of his life. He joined the company in 1982 and made his progress through a number of technical and leadership roles there.

Hiring CEOs internally is common practice at Intel, but the company has looked outside before appointing Krzanich. According to a report by All Things D, Intel's headhunters had approached a number of high-profile execs, such as Mark Hurd, president of Oracle and former CEO of HP, Pat Gelsinger, CEO of VMware who spent 30 years at Intel before joining EMC, VMware's majority owner, and Michael Daniels, IBM's former senior VP and services head.

James, 48, has also held a number of different positions at Intel, including that of chairwoman of the company's software subsidiaries Havok, McAfee and Wind River and of chief of staff to former Intel CEO Andy Grove. She sits on the boards of directors of the Vodafone Group and VMware.

Her and Krzanich will assume their new roles on 16 May, date of the company's annual stockholder meeting. That will also be the official date Otellini retires.

Intel's 2012 revenue was US$53.3bn, down 1.2% from 2011. Its full-year earnings per share were $2.13.