Another Exec To Leave Intel Capital

Claude Leglise, a key executive at Intel Capital, will step down this Friday, in the second major departure from the venture unit in less than a month. His departure follows on the heels of the resignation of Intel Capital President John Miner, who announced on March 24 that his last day is June 1.

Two sources close to Leglise say that he plans to do something venture related apart from Intel. Leglise was not immediately available for comment because he is traveling in China today.

One Silicon Valley venture capitalist who has done deals with Intel Capital speculated that the departures of the two executives might stem from the fact that Paul Otellini is taking over as CEO of Intel from Craig Barrett in May and may want to shake things up.

Intel Spokeswoman Laura Anderson told PE Week, “These two executives leaving isn’t part of a larger corporate shakeup. It’s just a coincidence of timing.

Arvind Sodhani, who replaces Miner as president of Intel Capital, announced Leglise’s resignation in an email to the organization today. It reads in part: “I regret to announce that Claude Leglise will be leaving Intel to pursue new interests. … Claude’s last day in Intel Capital will be April 8, 2005. His replacement will be named in due course. In the interim, Intel Capital’s international organization will report to me. On behalf of Intel and Intel Capital, I would like to thank Claude for his significant contributions and wish him the very best in his new endeavors.

Leglise is a vice president of Intel Capital and director its “International sector.” He started his career at Intel in 1982 in the company’s Microprocessor Division “where he launched Intel’s first 32-bit microprocessor, the 386, and its successor the 486,” according to a bio on Intel’s website. “During his tenure as director of marketing he pioneered the branding of microprocessors. He also served as general manager of the Supercomputer Components Operation.

The bio goes on to say that Leglise took responsibility for “defining Intel’s video and multimedia strategies” in 1992, then, in 1994, started the Developer Relations Group in 1994 to help the chip company work with consumer software industry. Four years later, Leglise was named VP and GM of Intel’s Home Products Group, which focuses on making products for the digital home. Since that time, the digital home has become a key area of interest for Intel. It launched the $200 million Intel Digital Home Fund in January 2004.

Intel Capital reports that it invested about $130 million in 110 deals last year, compared to $700 million it invested in 120 deals in 2003. The 2003 figures were skewed by two large investments that total $573 million combined. Without those deals, the company’s investment total would have been $127 million.

Intel doesn’t disclose the exact number of companies in its portfolio, but says the approximate number is 200. Since its founding in the early 1990s, Intel Capital has invested about $4 billion in more than 1,000 companies.

The Intel Capital portfolio was valued at about $1.2 billion as of Dec. 25, 2004.

Although Intel Capital’s investments are for strategic purposes to help Intel overall, it has performed well as a venture investor. In the past year alone, three of its portfolio companies went public and another eight were acquired. The company reports that to date it has provided its parent company with a net financial return, “enough to build a fab.” A fab can cost more than $1 billion to build from scratch.

Email Lawrence.Aragon@thomson.com