HBO's 'Silicon Valley' to end after its sixth season

CREDIT: HBO

Silicon Valley will be the third HBO mainstay series to end this year (after Game of Thrones and Veep). Variety reports that the final season will be an abbreviated seven-episode run, making Season 6 the shortest season for the show. It's currently in pre-production with this last season slated for a release later this year. Production was delayed because of co-showrunner and executive producer Alec Berg's commitments to HBO comedy Barry. Silicon Valley follows the ups and downs of working at a tech startup in what's considered a tech haven. It stars Thomas Middleditch, Zach Woods, Kumail Nanjiani, Martin Starr, Amanda Crew, Jimmy O. Yang, Suzanne Cryer, Matt Ross, and Josh Brener. The show has been nominated for multiple Emmys, including best comedy series, and has won two of the awards to date—both in 2015.

When asked about Silicon Valley ending, Berg and fellow showrunner/executive producer Mike Judge said, "’Silicon Valley’ has been a career and life highlight for us. We’ll miss it desperately, but we’ve always let Pied Piper’s journey guide the way, and Season 6 seems to be the fitting conclusion. We are forever indebted to our incredible cast, crew, and partners at HBO. At a certain point, there’s only so much we can do to make the world a better place."

Apple promotes Deidre O' Brien to VP of People

On the heels of announcing Isabel Ge Mahe's promotion to general manager and managing director of Greater China, the company has announced that Deidre O' Brien will move to VP of People for the Apple.

O' Brien was previously vice president of Worldwide Sales and Operations. She has been named vice president of People, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. A nearly 30-year Apple veteran, Deirdre will lead all HR functions including talent development, recruiting, benefits, compensation and business support, as well as overseeing Apple University.

“As long as I’ve been at Apple, Deirdre has been the glue that bonds our operations, sales, marketing and finance teams to deliver products to our customers,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Deirdre deeply understands Apple’s unique culture and that people join Apple to do the best work of their lives.  She is a superb leader and I’m thrilled she will be bringing her experience and talent to this critical role.”

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HBO’s ‘Silicon Valley’ teases season four

HBO’s Silicon Valley is making a comeback this April and with it we get to see a bit of what they might be up to with this new trailer for the fourth season. When we last left the Pied Piper team, they were looking to pivot away from the world of compression. Richard Hendricks, the bumbling-yet-brilliant lead of the show, is looking to start something big and new and we’re sure we’d get to see all of the antics, setbacks, and hopefully triumphs this season. Silicon Valley will be returning on April 23.

Former Intel CEO and Chairman Andy Grove has died

Some sad news coming from Silicon Valley, Intel's former CEO and Chairman Andy Grove has passed away at 79. Grove is credited for helping build Intel to great heights as a semiconductor giant as well as a key figure in the consumer technology landscape. He served as Intel's leader from 1979 to 2005.

According to Intel, "Grove played a critical role in the decision to move Intel’s focus from memory chips to microprocessors and led the firm’s transformation into a widely recognized consumer brand. Under his leadership, Intel produced the chips, including the 386 and Pentium, that helped usher in the PC era. The company also increased annual revenues from $1.9 billion to more than $26 billion."

Grove was also a bestelling author and business strategist, his book Only the Paranoid Survive: How To Exploit the Crisis Points that Challenge Every Company is a must-read for managers and one of the best references for managing change within companies and industries. Grove served as an elder statesman of the shifting technology industry even after his retirement in 2005.  Read more about his life and achievements here.