Grove Named Chief Executive at Intel Corp.

To ensure a “smooth management succession,” Santa Clara-based Intel Corp. on Thursday named Andrew S. Grove, 50, to succeed co-founder Gordon E. Moore, 58, as chief executive. The shift will take place in April.

“I am a believer in smooth management successions, and since Andy and I have worked together interchangeably for years, I expect this will be one of the smoothest on record,” Moore said in a statement. He will continue as chairman.

Moore’s imprint on Silicon Valley has been deep. Before founding Intel with Robert Noyce, he was a co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor Corp. in the mid-1950s and was instrumental in the development of the integrated circuit. With William Shockley, Moore was co-inventor of the transistor in 1956.

A Hungarian native, Grove has been with Intel since its founding in 1968 after a stint at Fairchild. He has been chief operating officer of the high-tech company since 1976 and president since 1979.