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Intel CEO Brian Krzanich Resigns Over Relationship With Employee (theverge.com)

Intel has announced that CEO Brian Krzanich has resigned from the company effective immediately. From a report: CFO Robert Swan is now Intel's interim chief executive officer. "Intel was recently informed that Mr. Krzanich had a past consensual relationship with an Intel employee," the company said in a press release. "An ongoing investigation by internal and external counsel has confirmed a violation of Intel's non-fraternization policy, which applies to all managers." Krzanich's immediate resignation was accepted to show "that all employees will respect Intel's values and adhere to the company's code of conduct," according to Intel.

27 of 307 comments (clear)

  1. FTFT by jbmartin6 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Krzanich's immediate resignation was accepted to show "that all employees will respect Intel's values and adhere to the company's code of conduct"

    after being caught

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    1. Re:FTFT by amiga3D · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Hard to punish someone YOU HAVEN'T CAUGHT.

    2. Re: FTFT by XXongo · · Score: 4, Informative
      Hm. If the relation really was consensual, I'm inclined toward being a bit tolerant.

      Of course, we haven't heard from the employee. Relations between powerful and powerless always tend to look consensual from the viewpoint of the powerful.

    3. Re:FTFT by jbmartin6 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The person knew he was in violation and could have resigned at the time of the relationship, instead of nobly resigning after some one ratted him out.

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    4. Re: FTFT by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Informative

      If you want to have a relationship with a subordinate the right thing to do is to remove yourself from a position of power over them. No matter how good your intentions are it's probably only a matter of time until there is a conflict of interest or you make a request they feel like they can't refuse without it hurting their career. And when if/when it does eventually come out, every decision you ever made affecting them will be questioned.

      As uncle Ben says, microwave rice isn't... I mean, with great power comes great responsibility.

      In this case it seems that he probably didn't want to do any of that stuff because he is already married with kids. Still, perhaps it doesn't need so much media coverage... "Stepped down due to personal issues" is probably enough.

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  2. First rule of business ... by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Its is funny how so many C-Level execs forget the FIRST rule of business:

    NEVER mix business and pleasure.

    There is a reason people set boundaries -- so they (almost) never have to worry about the two interfering. Of course it doesn't 100% prevent getting fucked over but it could always be worse if you are "involved."

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    1. Re: First rule of business ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      In today's hyper sensitive climate, the only rational move seems to be to treat everyone in a dispassionate, robotic fashion.

      Consenting adults should be left the fuck alone. Corporations shouldn't be responsible for the behavior of consenting adults, nor should they be penalizing it, either.

      We're monkeys. We're constantly horny, with millions of years of hard wired instinct chittering away during every interaction with every other human being we encounter. Our instincts scream at us to fuck, fight, or flee during the first 20 seconds after meeting anyone new.

      If the two had a mutually agreeable, consensual relationship, then the company has no good reason to take any action. Companies and workplaces need to step away from preemptive interference with human relationships.

      Explicit harassment, abuse of power, and so on are terrible things. Preventing liability through artificial constraints on base human instincts is a shit way to manage a company. Make allowances for rational adults. It's absurd that this guy has to lose his job over sex, especially if nobody was hurt.

    2. Re: First rule of business ... by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 3

      Mod parent up -- I will add to their statements that US culture is far too prudish in all respects.

    3. Re: First rule of business ... by greenwow · · Score: 3, Informative

      > US culture

      We recently in 2010 started hiring employees in Caracas, Venezuela. They are shockingly non-PC. Locally here in Seattle, we fired a male employee for wearing "dad" shorts too far above his knees. Later we had to let a woman go because she wore tank tops to work. We had a group of women threaten to quit and vandalize the office because we didn't fire tank top woman the first time they asked. In our VZ office, there's pictures of women in lingerie on the wall and a couple of the women have showed-up back from lunch in bikini tops. Completely different culture.

  3. Re:sure, guy by psycho12345 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because they abided by it, including the spelled out consequences of violating it, even if it is the CEO.

  4. Re:Non fratzernization ? by Greyfox · · Score: 5, Funny

    C level execs can't chill with the employees. They might accidentally develop human feelings that might cause them to view their employees as people and not just cogs in the machine. Next thing you know, they might start treating them with compassion, and you know that's no good for the shareholders!

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  5. Female or male employee? by Max_W · · Score: 4, Funny

    I did not get it. Was it female or male employee?

    I looked up in the WIkipedia: Fraternization (from Latin frater, brother) is "turning people into brothers".

    What "non-fraternization policy" may mean?

    1. Re:Female or male employee? by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 3, Informative

      Was it female or male employee?

      Latin uses the male version of the word when referring to groups of mixed or indeterminate gender. This was probably a woman, but I'm just playing the odds because I don't know his sexual orientation and the majority of men seem to be straight.

      A non-fraternization policy prohibits social activities, to some degree, between bosses and underlings. One of those areas of activities covered is usually sexual

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  6. Re:Non fratzernization ? by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 4, Informative

    >> non-fraternization policy Non fratzernization ? What's this kind of BS ?

    Well known to any military.

    Officers can't socialize with enlisted. (And, possibly, senior enlisted can't socialize with junior enlisted.)

    It's detrimental to good order and discipline. Either you end up giving/getting special treatment - intentionally or not - or else others think you do, are suspicious that you are, etc.

  7. obligatory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Intel Inside

  8. Another explanation by Artem+S.+Tashkinov · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Or maybe just maybe it's because Intel has almost squandered its competitive edge?

    10nm is nowhere to be seen in decent quantities even though it was promised back in ... 2016. In a recent earnings call mass production was delayed until 2019.

    Ice Lake is nowhere to be seen and Intel is still rehashing its three (!) years old SkyLake uArch. Meanwhile AMD Zen uArch has a very strong IPC performance and is only lacking in top frequencies, however AMD CPUs also have a very competitive TDP.

    Add Meltdown, Spectre, Brian Krzanich selling all his shares (and leaving the bare minimum allowed by corporate laws) to the mix and the picture becomes quite grim. Perhaps shareholders were happy to use this excuse to let him go. In another (successful) corporation and under different circumstances this incident perhaps would have been brushed under the carpet.

  9. He didn't do anything wrong. by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 3, Informative

    Relationship was consensual. Policy is wrong -- employers should butt out of employees'/managers' private lives when they're off the clock. He was right to keep his private life private -- shame that someone snitched on him. Petty snitches make life worse for everyone.

  10. Refreshing by h8sg8s · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Refreshing to see upper management held to the same company standards as the rest in the management chain. Too often, C-level and board members are given a pass after taking a pass at a subordinate while those further down the chain are crucified for the same behavior.

    --
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  11. Re:hope it was good by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He probably left with a nice severance "package" and can walk out, start his own company, get a teaching gig, move to the beach in Thailand, etc. Who has the last laugh? He's hardly impoverished.

  12. Just an excuse by PingSpike · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A lot of people deluding themselves here IMO. Literally no ones cares BK slept with his secretary. That stuff just goes away at this level. This is just cover for tossing him after blowing the manufacturing lead and other leadership failures. They don't want to spook the shareholders.

  13. Alternative valid reason by FeelGood314 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It might be that this other person sat in meetings with him and it could be seen as an colluding to force an agenda. Or the other person might report to a manager that reports to Krzanich and this manager would then feel as if they are being watched or undermined by the relationship. There are other reasons than sexual misconduct to ban some relationships in a company.

  14. Intel hiding the reason for firing the CEO? by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's my opinion, also.

    My guess is that the Intel Board of Directors is trying to hide why they are firing the CEO. Krzanich was only slightly better than the previous CEO, Paul Otellini, in my opinion.

    The Meltdown and Spectre bugs and the amazingly poor way Intel handled the issues could be one of the reasons for firing Krzanich.

    See my comment on another story: Updated: Intel's YEARS of insufficient management.

    Intel is extremely important to the entire world. How can the Board of Directors find a better CEO, when the Board has made mistakes in the past?

    Intel is shockingly bad at communicating, in my opinion. Two people decided to have sex with each other? That's Intel's news?

  15. YES! by bussdriver · · Score: 4, Insightful

    For the younger readers, keep this in mind. Company policies are only there to give HR excuses! If you piss off the wrong people (especially a vindictive HR person) you'll have policies thrown at you by makeshift prosecutors (or actual staff lawyers) including ones they themselves have broken in the past.

    Also be wary of staff who seem to know the company policies too well; because it often indicates a nasty person (or somebody who managed to escape an attack.) Normal people don't memorize the whole policy handbook; most people don't even read the whole thing and certainly decisions are often made without consulting it or following it (the larger it is the more likely it's BS only used as a fallback when fears of court cases arise.)

  16. Re:Wife by Major+Blud · · Score: 3, Informative

    I wonder what his wife and two daughters think about that. Another Republican with loose morals.

    Maybe he thought he could get away with it....seemed to work for this guy.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...–Lewinsky_scandal

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  17. Re:Non fratzernization ? by datavirtue · · Score: 3, Interesting

    " 'code of conduct' gets developed at a large company in order to treat employees more or less equally,"

    Incorrect. It is a rule made by sociopaths to maintain control. Upper management rarely thinks in terms of culture, fairness, and compassion. Even more rare when dealing with the company.

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  18. Re:Non fratzernization ? by larryjoe · · Score: 4, Informative

    Fortunately, private life isn't the military -- employees shouldn't be treated like soldiers.

    But the exact same underlying implied and always existing possibility of coercion exists. That's the problem. There is no way to eliminate the thought of possible retaliation from the mind of the underling, and therefore true consensuality is impossible.

  19. I don't understand what the fuss is by Lead+Butthead · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Executives fuck their secretaries all the time. You don't really think all those beauty queen secretaries are hired for their ability to perform the tasks outlined in their job description, do you? In my past lives, the general manager had company paid for one of his secretary's breast implant operation. (Yes, he was fucking them both.)

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