Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC ) CEO Paul Otellini made a surprise announcement of his retirement from the firm yesterday (Monday). Otellini, who has worked for Intel for forty years and has been CEO for the past eight years, said in a statement that "...it's time to move on and transfer Intel's helm to a new generation of leadership." Opinion has been divided over Otellini's tenure as Intel's CEO. While he has increased revenue and dividends, Intel's share price has risen by only about 1% annually. Intel has clearly missed the boat on making mobile devices. Gus Richard, who covers Intel for Piper Jaffray, wrote, "As the PC market has stagnated, Intel has tried to pivot to mobile and increasingly to foundry. However, Intel has had very limited success in mobile and Intel's prices for foundry wafers are 3x that of TSMC's [Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE ADR: TSM )]." Richard, who has a "Neutral" rating on Intel shares, continued, "The new CEO will also have numerous internal conflicts to resolve while moving the company forward. Although Otellini's departure is billed as a retirement, in many cases it is not a positive sign when a CEO leaves." To continue reading, please click here...