San Francisco, Jul 2 (IANS): Chipmaker Qualcomm on Friday announced that Cristiano Amon will take over as its fourth CEO on the company's 36th birthday.

With this, Amon is now the President and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated and also serves on the company's board of directors.

"We have been at the forefront of innovation for decades and I look forward to maintaining this position going forward," Amon said.

"In addition to driving the expansion of 5G into mainstream devices and beyond mobile, Qualcomm is set to play a key role in the digital transformation of numerous industries as our technologies become essential to connecting everything to the cloud," he added.

As he becomes the CEO, Amon says that he looks to the opportunities 5G will bring to every industry and the role it will play in the digital transformation of many companies.

"The need for our solutions has never been more pronounced and our leadership position has never been more evident," he said.

"I look forward to working with our 41,000 employees around the world to create technologies that revolutionize the way people live, work and connect with each other," he added.

Amon began his Qualcomm career in 1995 as an engineer and during his tenure he has helped shape the strategic direction for the company in several leadership roles.

Prior to becoming CEO, Amon served as President of Qualcomm.

In that role, he steered development of a leading and differentiated product roadmap, spearheaded Qualcomm's 5G strategy -- as well as its acceleration and global roll out -- and drove the expansion and diversification of the business to serve multiple industries.

Additionally, he has overseen the successful execution of M&A to augment Qualcomm's capabilities and accelerate growth in key areas, including RF front end, connectivity, and networking.