Qualcomm CEO’s strategy through thick and thin: To win with better technology, led by 5G

For Qualcomm Chief Executive Steve Mollenkopf, an already nasty, two-year legal fight with Apple became even uglier this past January. Apple CEO Tim Cook said on television that the two companies had not discussed a settlement in months, essentially contradicting Mollenkopf’s claims that they were on the doorstep of a resolution. The language used by the CEOs was vague. Both could have been accurate. Qualcomm fired off a statement claiming Apple’s comments appeared to be deliberately timed to attempt to tarnish Qualcomm’s reputation. Apple stood by what Cook said. In the end, the companies did settle their global legal war a few months later after opening arguments in an April trial — eerily close to the time-table Mollenkopf had been predicting internally “I said it would settle on the courthouse steps, and it was the day of the trial,” he said. “So I was off by one day.” It was a stunning outcome for Mollenkopf, bringing Qualcomm’s largest customer back into the fold with a six-year patent license agreement and an undefined, multi-year chip supply deal. Mollenkopf’s prediction wasn’t random. It was informed by previous wars Qualcomm has fought with the likes of Nokia and Broadcom more than a decade ago.