Qualcomm's Peggy Johnson to leave for Microsoft, report says

According to a new report, Qualcomm's (NASDAQ:QCOM) Peggy Johnson is leaving the company for a new post at Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). Both Qualcomm and Microsoft declined to comment on the report in Re/code.

microsoft qualcomm peggy johnson

Johnson

If the report is accurate, the move represents another high-ranking executive to depart chipmaker Qualcomm; Craig Barratt, the former head of Qualcomm Atheros, left the vendor earlier this year and is now Google's senior vice president in charge "Access and Energy." The departures are notable considering Qualcomm has a reputation for retaining top executives for decades.

Johnson currently serves as executive vice president of Qualcomm Technologies and president of global market development. She is responsible for commercializing new business opportunities and developing strategic relationships for the chipset vendor. Johnson also leads Qualcomm's global marketing organization and oversees Qualcomm Labs, which focuses on launching new businesses and products.

Steve Mollenkopf earlier this year took over from Paul Jacobs as CEO of Qualcomm.

It's unclear what Johnson might do at Microsoft. The company is in the midst of a major restructuring after purchasing Nokia's smartphone division. Under the company's new CEO, Microsoft is working to target what it calls the "mobile-first, cloud-first" opportunity.

Johnson joined Qualcomm in 1989 and is probably best-known for her tenure as the president of the high-profile Qualcomm Internet Services and MediaFLO Technologies division, where she helped develop BREW and other solutions including QChat and UIOne. While overseeing BREW, Johnson was credited for her team's ability to develop solid relationships with carriers around the world--no small feat. In January 2008, Johnson was part of a Qualcomm restructuring and was named executive vice president of the Americas and India. She was later named executive vice president and head of global development, where she was responsible for commercializing new business opportunities that reside outside of existing Qualcomm business units. In 2011, Johnson was listed as one of FierceWireless' Most Influential Women in Wireless. Article