Qualcomm names its next permanent chief financial officer

Akash Palkhiwala has been formally named Qualcomm's CFO. His appointment comes after some time serving in that capacity on an interim basis, following the last high-level staff shake-up at the chip-making giant. This executive has also been a senior vice president at Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT). His new appointment comes as, to quote the company's chief executive officer, Steve Mollenkopf, "the 5G ramp begins".

Palkhiwala began working at Qualcomm in 2001, and gained a degree in mechanical engineering from L.D. College of Engineering in India prior to his career. He also holds an MBA from the University of Maryland. At QCT, he would have been responsible for financing projects in areas such as mobile solutions, RF front ends, internet-of-things (IoT), connectivity and general computing.

This experience may have given Palkhiwala what Qualcomm's CEO calls a "deep understanding of our business both operationally and strategically". The executive's long-term nomination as CFO also comes in the wake of a relatively strong fiscal-year final result for 2019.