Intel names semiconductor veteran Lip-Bu Tan as CEO
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The news: Intel named semiconductor industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO, effective 18 March, just over three months after ousting Pat Gelsinger.
Tan, a former Intel board member and ex-CEO of Cadence Design Systems, will also rejoin the board after stepping down in August 2024. Intel’s stock rose more than 11% in after-hours trading following the announcement.
The context: Intel is struggling with market-share losses, manufacturing setbacks and a steep earnings decline. The company is investing heavily to become a contract chip manufacturer, but the effort has yet to secure major customers.
Tan left Intel’s board last year, reportedly due to disagreements over the company’s turnaround strategy, believing it had too many layers of middle management and that its chip contract manufacturing effort was not sufficiently customer-centric, according to Reuters.
Tan’s most critical decision will be whether to keep Intel’s chip design and manufacturing operations together or split them apart.
Chip giants Qualcomm, Broadcom and Arm have reportedly explored buying all or part of Intel, leaving new CEO Lip-Bu Tan to decide whether to fend off potential suitors or rethink the company’s structure.
What they said: In a statement, Tan acknowledged the challenges but said he believes the company has “what it takes to win.”
He pledged to make Intel both a “world-class products company” and a “world-class foundry”—a contract chip manufacturer that produces semiconductors for other companies—by focusing on engineering excellence, customer needs, and accountability, while taking calculated risks to regain competitiveness.
Intel remains one of the world’s biggest chipmakers by revenue but has lost significant ground to Nvidia and AMD.
The sources: Intel statement , Lip-Bu Tan statement , Reuters
