By Peter Stiff and Ian Walker
LONDON-- ARM Holdings PLC said Thursday that Chief Financial
Officer Tim Score will retire next May after 12 years at the
computer-chip designer.
The Cambridge, England-based company, which designs chips found
in 95% of all smartphones, said it would appoint search consultants
shortly to find a successor.
A spokesman for ARM said the company would consider both
internal and external candidates to replace Mr. Score, 53 years
old, who doesn't plan to take on another executive role.
The announcement of Mr. Score's departure comes roughly a year
after longtime Chief Executive Warren East left the company,
handing the reins over to Simon Segars.
Under the leadership of Mr. East and Mr. Score, ARM became one
of the U.K.'s most successful technology companies, as its
specialism in low-cost, low-energy chips that are well suited to
mobile devices allowed it to benefit from the growth of the mobile
market.
Analysts at RBC said Mr. Score was "extremely well regarded by
the market, and will be missed." They added that his departure
doesn't come as a complete surprise given the length of his tenure,
and that ARM's strong reputation should allow it to attract a
high-caliber replacement.
Last month, ARM reported a 20% rise in first-quarter profit to
GBP62.3 million ($104.7 million), boosted by customers using its
technology in a growing range of products from supercomputers to
sensors.
Write to Peter Stiff at peter.stiff@wsj.com and Ian Walker at
ian.walker@wsj.com
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