Intel replenish ranks from within

“We’re a company that’s always gone from within in terms of these promotions,” he said. “I think that makes a lot of sense for most companies, particularly given the track record in the Valley lately", Otellini said in a Bloomberg interview.

Paul Otellini, as well as his two predecessors, Craig Barrett and Andy Grove, spent time in the role of chief operating officer before taking on the CEO role at Intel. He believes that current COO Brian Krzanich is one of "a stable of strong candidates" to eventually replace him.