高通神秘新任首席执行官提前登场

    直到上周，很多人对于高通公司（Qualcomm）首席运营官史蒂夫•莫伦科普夫都知之甚少。上周四，彭博社（Bloomberg）报道称，在无线行业担任高管多年的莫伦科普夫成为微软（Microsoft）下一任首席执行官候选人，其它候选人还包括：诺基亚（Nokia）前首席执行官史蒂芬•埃洛普，福特（Ford）首席执行官艾伦•穆拉利，以及现任微软高管萨蒂亚•纳德拉和托尼•贝茨等人。次日，高通宣布莫伦科普夫将接任首席执行官一职，当然是在高通，而不是微软。

    在外人看来，高通发布这个消息有些突然，也有些令人意外。不过，高通现任首席执行官保罗•雅各布称，这项继任计划已经筹备多时，只不过提前了几年。雅各布向《财富》（Fortune）表示：“（莫伦科普夫）是这个职位的不二人选。他效力高通多年，对高通的企业文化十分了解。他帮助我们定义了高通的企业文化。我们之间的过渡十分平稳。”雅各布将于明年三月卸任首席执行官一职，不过他将继续担任高通执行董事长。

    雅各布在接受《财富》电话采访时不愿提及微软。不过，很显然，莫伦科普夫与微软的对话使高通的首席执行官继任计划变得紧迫起来。高通对莫伦科普夫的任命引人注目，不光是因为莫伦科普夫将成为高通公司成立近30年来的第三任首席执行官，还因为他的两位前任都是雅各布家族的成员。高通创始人兼首任CEO欧文•雅各布于2005年卸任，保罗•雅各布随后子承父业。

    那么莫伦科普夫有何过人之处？他非常年轻，只有44岁，而且整个职业生涯都在高通度过。莫伦科普夫拥有电气工程学学位。（他在“功率测量与估算、多制式传输系统和无线通信收发技术”等领域获得过多项专利。）担任芯片部门负责人期间，他帮助高通一举成为全球最大的移动芯片供应商。换句话说，除了雅各布家族成员，莫伦科普夫是最有希望执掌高通的人。

    首席执行官的稳定更替对高通管理层和董事会至关重要。它同时也反映了高通的企业文化：高通的大部分高管都在这家公司奋斗了很多年。当然，“沉稳”这个特点同样也渗透到了高通的公司战略上：高通作为一家芯片企业，虽然也在竭力拓展新的市场，但它依然维持着相当广阔的市场份额（和收入来源）。高通避免在零售领域抛头露面，但它不又甘心只做一家供应商，而是选择成为整个行业的基石，从而从整个移动通信科技领域获利。高通芯片广泛应用于包括苹果（Apple）、三星（Samsung）、LG在内的大量主流智能手机。

    这意味着高通非常在意自己略显呆板但又充满创新的企业文化。高通为了进军下一个充满商机的市场，在吸引和挽留人才方面可谓不遗余力。（请参看：《包罗万象，无所不能，看高通在嵌入式芯片领域大展身手》一文。）

    虽然高通的突然任命最初让人震惊，但观察人士认为，莫伦科普夫掌舵后高通的公司战略将基本保持平稳。而这一点无疑可以从莫伦科普夫的背景中看出。

    If you hadn't heard much about Qualcomm (QCOM) COO Steve Mollenkopf until last week, you're not alone. On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft (MSFT) was seriously considering the longtime wireless executive for its top job, along with a long list of potential successors, including former Nokia head Stephen Elop, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, and current Microsoft execs Satya Nadella and Tony Bates. The following morning, it was announced that Mollenkopf would indeed ascend to the CEO spot -- but at Qualcomm, not Microsoft.

    From the outside, the announcement came swiftly and unexpectedly. According to Qualcomm's Paul Jacobs, however, the succession plan has been in the works for a while and was only sped up by a couple of years. "He's just the right guy," Jacobs told Fortune. "He's been in the Qualcomm culture for so long. He's helped define it. This is a very smooth transition plan." Jacobs will step down in March and will remain on board as executive chairman.

    Jacobs wouldn't utter the name "Microsoft" on the call. But it's clear that whatever talks Mollenkopf and Microsoft were engaged in, it added a sense of urgency to Qualcomm's succession plan. The move is notable not just because Mollenkopf will be just the third CEO in Qualcomm's nearly 30-year history, but he'll also be the first leader whose last name isn't Jacobs. The company's founding chief executive, Irwin Jacobs, served until 2005. Then his son Paul took over.

    So what's so special about Mollenkopf? He's young -- just 44 years old -- but has spent his entire career at Qualcomm. His background is in electrical engineering. (He holds patents in "power estimation and measurement, multi-standard transmitter system, and wireless communication transceiver technology.") As head of the company's chipset business, he helped build Qualcomm into the world's largest wireless chip supplier. In other words, he's the closest thing to a Jacobs family member that Qualcomm could have at the helm.

    That continuity is extremely important for Qualcomm's management team and board. It's also reflective of the company's culture: Many of Qualcomm's other top executives have also been there for decades. That preference for stability seeps into its business strategy, too: Though the chipmaker constantly tries to push its components into new markets, it has maintained a sizable presence (and revenue stream) by shunning the retail limelight and choosing to be a supplier, profiting off the efforts of nearly the entire technology industry, rather than a single vendor. Qualcomm chips are found in many top smartphones, including those from Apple (AAPL), Samsung, and LG Electronics.

    Which means Qualcomm is more concerned with maintaining its nerdy, innovative culture; attracting and retaining the right talent at its San Diego-based headquarters and elsewhere; and, most importantly, pushing for its next big market. (Hint: pretty much anything and everything Qualcomm can embed its chips into.)

    Despite the initial surprise of the announcement, onlookers expect little shift in Qualcomm's strategy with Mollenkopf at the helm. And that, perhaps, is the most striking aspect of the announcement -- and Mollenkopf's background.