Qualcomm promoted Don McGuire to the role of CMO with immediate effect, as the chipmaker increases efforts to build brand awareness for its Snapdragon portfolio.

McGuire joined Qualcomm from Intel in 2016 and was appointed SVP of global product and technology marketing in late 2020, a role covering business lines spanning mobile, wireless infrastructure, IoT and automotive.

He takes over from Penny Baldwin, who will continue in an advisory role until retiring later in the year.

Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm president and CEO, hailed McGuire’s “great passion for our technologies and the opportunities ahead”, backing him to “drive confidence in our roadmap and future vision to enable the digital transformation of all industries”.

Before Intel, McGuire founded two independent marketing businesses, and held roles at Kyocera, Cricket Communications, Sprint, AT&T and McCaw Cellular.

Qualcomm credited McGuire with redefining its approach to promoting Snapdragon. The company recently increased consumer marketing efforts around the brand to encourage smartphone buyers to choose models featuring its chipsets, this week revealing plans to launch a high-end device made by Asus as part of the plan.