“People think I’m nuts for leaving,” says John Miner, who next month will step down as president of Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of the giant chip maker. “And maybe I am. It’s one of the best jobs in the world.” But after 22 years at Intel, during which he also ran divisions making chips for communications devices, servers and PCs, Miner says a midlife crisis prompted him to move on.
“I turned 50 and said, ‘There aren’t going to be too many chances to explore other options,’” he explains. “You can sit around and work forever doing the same thing. I had to cut that cord.”
Not that Miner is straying too far from the beaten path. He’s leaning toward starting his own venture capital fund, which might focus initially on investments around his hometown of Portland, Oregon. Miner is most excited by technological advances in Asia, where Intel Capital made one in five of its 110 deals, worth some $130 million, in 2004. He is particularly intrigued by the Indian software industry, which he says has the potential to boost efficiency and lower costs for U.S. industries, especially health care.
“The window-on-the-world perspective was among the most enjoyable parts of the job, and I hope to capture that in anything I do,” he says.
Miner, who is married and has no children, also plans to devote some long-overdue free time to sharpening his golf and surfing skills. But leisure is not a top priority. “I’ll have to try to control myself and hold back at least until the end of the summer to start my new project,” he says.
Arvind Sodhani will leave the treasurer’s job at Intel Corp. to take over for Miner, who says he expects few changes in the investing unit’s strategy.
