Qualcomm Inc.
Leadership History
4 leaders · 1985 to present
Cristiano Amon is the CEO of Qualcomm, in the role since 2021. The first chief executive was Irwin M. Jacobs, from 1985.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Amon | President and Chief Executive Officer | 2021 | Present | 5 |
| Steve Mollenkopf | Chief Executive Officer | 2013 | 2021 | 8 |
| Paul E. Jacobs | Chief Executive Officer | 2005 | 2014 | 9 |
| Irwin M. Jacobs | Co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 1985 | 2005 | 20 |
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies and a leading holder of cellular patents. Founded in San Diego in 1985, it helped commercialize CDMA, the technology behind 3G networks, and today supplies Snapdragon platforms to Android phone makers such as Samsung and Xiaomi, plus chips for cars, PCs, XR headsets and industrial devices. It had about 52,000 employees in FY2025 and a market value of roughly $208B in late September 2026. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California. Qualcomm was founded in 1985 in San Diego, California, by Irwin Jacobs, Andrew Viterbi, and five fellow engineers, pioneering CDMA digital wireless technology and growing into the world’s preeminent mobile semiconductor and telecommunications licensing titan.
Qualcomm earns money in two ways. QCT (Qualcomm CDMA Technologies) designs Snapdragon systems-on-chip, modems, RF front-end and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chips and sells them to handset, automotive, PC and IoT customers; manufacturing is outsourced to foundries such as TSMC and Samsung. QCT produced $38.367B of FY2025 revenue, including $27.793B from handsets, $6.617B from IoT and $3.957B from automotive. QTL (Qualcomm Technology Licensing) licenses Qualcomm's standard-essential and other wireless patents to device makers for royalties based on device prices. QTL is much smaller than QCT by revenue but carries far higher margins (a 69% EBT margin in Q3 FY2026), so it contributes an outsized share of profit.
President and Chief Executive Officer
2021 – Present
5 years (current)
Cristiano Amon, a Brazilian electrical engineer, joined Qualcomm in 1995 and led its QCT chip business and president role before becoming CEO on June 30, 2021, succeeding Steve Mollenkopf. He has steered Qualcomm toward automotive, PCs, industrial IoT and data centers, approving the Nuvia, Alphawave and Modular deals.
Chief Executive Officer
2013 – 2021
8 years
Mollenkopf successfully defended Qualcomm against a hostile $117 billion takeover attempt by Broadcom in 2018, which was eventually blocked by the US government.
As CEO, he navigated the company through brutal antitrust litigation with Apple and the FTC, securing the critical 5G licensing agreements that stabilized Qualcomm's revenue model.
Chief Executive Officer
2005 – 2014
9 years
Paul Jacobs succeeded his father as chief executive in July 2005 and built the Snapdragon mobile processor business.
Qualcomm became the largest supplier of smartphone chips under him. Steve Mollenkopf succeeded him in March 2014.
Co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
1985 – 2005
20 years
Irwin Jacobs co-founded Qualcomm in 1985 and led the development of CDMA mobile technology.
He built the patent-licensing model that became the main source of Qualcomm profit. His son Paul succeeded him in 2005.
These officers report to the chief executive and are not part of the CEO timeline above.
Qualcomm faces handset cyclicality, customer concentration, Apple modem substitution risk, competition from MediaTek and in-house silicon, China exposure, regulatory pressure on licensing, foundry dependency, and the need to turn automotive, IoT, PC, and AI opportunities into material long-term revenue.
Key CEOs in Qualcomm's history include co-founder Dr. Irwin M. Jacobs (1985 to 2005), Dr. Paul E. Jacobs (2005 to 2014), Steve Mollenkopf (2014 to 2021), and current CEO Cristiano R. Amon (2021, present).
Dr. Irwin Jacobs led Qualcomm from a 7-person startup in 1985 into a multi-billion-dollar telecommunications leader. He championed CDMA technology against global skepticism, established the QTL licensing model, and created the foundational technologies of the mobile internet.
Steve Mollenkopf guided Qualcomm through its most turbulent corporate era: successfully defeating Broadcom's hostile $142 billion takeover attempt in 2018, resolving large multi-billion-dollar global antitrust litigation with Apple and the FTC, leading the global transition to 5G, and acquiring NUVIA for $1.4 billion.
Cristiano Amon, a Brazilian-born electrical engineer who joined Qualcomm in 1995, became CEO in June 2021. He launched Qualcomm's 'Connected Intelligent Edge' diversification strategy, expanding into AI PCs (Snapdragon X Elite), building a $45B+ automotive pipeline, and scaling industrial IoT.
Dr. Paul Jacobs (Irwin Jacobs' son) steered Qualcomm through the birth of modern smartphones, creating the Snapdragon processor family in 2007 and acquiring Atheros Communications for $3.1 billion in 2011 to dominate mobile Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
In March 2018, following months of intense corporate defense by Qualcomm leadership, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order blocking Broadcom's $142 billion hostile takeover on national security grounds, preserving Qualcomm's vital leadership in 5G R&D.
Qualcomm's leadership culture is defined by deep engineering excellence, fearless mathematical innovation, long-term R&D commitment, and solving the world's most complex wireless, computing, and AI challenges.
Cristiano Amon is focused on transforming Qualcomm from a communications company for the mobile industry into an intelligent computing company for the era of generative AI, powering billions of connected smart devices, cars, PCs, and spatial computers.
Cristiano R. Amon is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Qualcomm Incorporated, having served as CEO since June 2021.
Cristiano Amon joined Qualcomm in 1995 as an engineer, rising through executive ranks to lead QCT semiconductor operations as President, orchestrating Qualcomm’s 5G rollout and championing diversification into PCs and automotive.
Amon orchestrated the $1.4B acquisition of NUVIA, spearheaded Qualcomm’s aggressive expansion into automotive Snapdragon Digital Chassis, entered the PC market with Snapdragon X Elite, and positioned Qualcomm as an edge AI leader.
Steve Mollenkopf served as CEO from 2014 to 2021, skillfully navigating the company through existential challenges: defending against Broadcom’s $117B hostile takeover, winning FTC antitrust litigation, and resolving the Apple dispute.
Dr. Paul E. Jacobs (son of founder Irwin Jacobs) was CEO from 2005 to 2014, leading Qualcomm’s transition from feature phones to smartphones and launching the Snapdragon processor platform.
Dr. Irwin Jacobs was the founding CEO and Chairman from 1985 to 2005, guiding the invention and commercialization of CDMA wireless technology, transforming Qualcomm from a small consulting team into a global telecom titan.
Qualcomm is headquartered in San Diego, California, operating an extensive technology campus in the Sorrento Valley and Morehouse Drive corridors.
Qualcomm’s culture is defined by deep scientific engineering rigor, relentless commitment to foundational R&D, patent protection, and audacious bets on future wireless computing paradigms.
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