Warren East, CEO of UK Semiconductor Company ARM, to Retire this Year

British chipmaker giant ARM (News - Alert) is reporting this week that its CEO Warren East will be retiring from the company on July 1st of this year. East has been leading the company for 12 years, though his tenure with ARM goes back to 1994, when he was hired to lead the company’s consulting business. East is 51 years old.

The company has seen growth and an escalation of its market share during East’s tenure as CEO, in part thanks to its status as a supplier of chips to Apple (News - Alert) for the latter’s popular wireless devices. Under East, ARM saw operating profits grow six-fold to £263 million ($397 million) for fiscal year 2012 on revenue of $913 million, according to TechCrunch.

"It has been a privilege to lead ARM during such a momentous and exciting time for our industry and I am proud of what the ARM team of employees and partners has achieved together while I have been CEO; ARM is a great company with a strong market position and a unique culture,” said East in a statement.

“We take a very long-term view about our business, and we believe that now is the right time to bring in new leadership, to execute on the next phase of growth and to plan even further into the future. I have worked with Simon in the senior leadership team for many years and we share a global perspective and belief in the ARM approach to partnership and collaboration; he is an excellent choice to lead ARM."

ARM’s president, Simon Segars, will step into the position of CEO to replace East. Segars joined the company in 1991 and became a member of the board in 2005.

"I am honored to have been appointed to succeed Warren, who has achieved so much in his time leading the business,” said Segars. “Above all, Warren’s vision of the ARM business model and commitment to the ARM partnership has been inspirational and has created a tremendous platform for future growth. I am keen to lead the Company into the next phase of growth, working even more closely with John, the Board, our employees and our customers as well as continuing to develop the ARM partnership."