Is Warren East the retiring type?
There are a number of reasons why a successful and relatively young businessman would want to retire. One is an addiction to golf, other leisure activities, his family or combinations thereof. Another could be that after more than a decade of driving the UK's leading semiconductor IP company, he's simply burned out.
Warren East has done a good job in pushing ARM from being a 'one horse' company to where it is today. Turnover has more than tripled, he's increased shareholder returns, he's hit all the right buttons and corporate life would seem to be fine. And yet he's retiring aged only 51.
While exceptions can prove rules, people like East don't quit. So is he really 'retiring'? Could it be he has somewhere else to go? A hare has been set running which links East with a forthcoming ceo vacancy at the world's largest microprocessor manufacturer; a company in need of a new direction.
