MUMBAI: The Silicon Valley giant that's been looking for a permanent captain has finally found its new helmsman, as Intel Corp yesterday announced semiconductor veteran Lip-Bu Tan will slide into the chief executive's chair effective 18 March.
The appointment ends months of boardroom musical chairs at the chip-making behemoth, with Tan succeeding interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus.
Zinsner will remain executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Johnston Holthaus will remain CEO of Intel Products.
Frank D. Yeary, who took on the role of interim executive chair of the board during the search for a new CEO, will revert to being the independent chair of the board upon Tan getting his feet under the corner office’s desk.
“Lip-Bu is an exceptional leader whose technology industry expertise, deep relationships across the product and foundry ecosystems, and proven track record of creating shareholder value is exactly what Intel needs in its next CEO,” Yeary said. “Throughout his long and distinguished career, he has earned a reputation as an innovator who puts customers at the heart of everything he does, delivers differentiated solutions to win in the market and builds high-performance cultures to achieve success.
“Like many across the industry, I have worked closely with Lip-Bu in the past and have seen firsthand how his relentless attention to customers drives innovation and success,” Yeary continued. “We are delighted to have Lip-Bu as our CEO as we work to accelerate our turnaround and capitalise on the significant growth opportunities ahead.”
The 63-year-old Singapore-born executive, who previously served on Intel's board before stepping down last August, brings over two decades of semiconductor foreplay to a company desperately seeking to regain its mojo.
A longtime technology investor, he has deep relationships across Intel’s ecosystem, having served as CEO Cadence Design Systems from 2009 to 2021, where he led a reinvention of the company and drove a cultural transformation centered on customer-centric innovation. During his time as CEO, Cadence more than doubled its revenue, expanded operating margins and delivered a stock price appreciation of more than 3,200 per cent.
Tan served as a member of the Cadence board of directors for 19 years, from his appointment in 2004 through his service as executive chairman from 2021 to 2023 following his tenure as CEO.
"I am honoured to join Intel as CEO," said Tan."I see significant opportunities to remake our business in ways that serve our customers better and create value for our shareholders."
“Intel has a powerful and differentiated computing platform, a vast customer installed base and a robust manufacturing footprint that is getting stronger by the day as we rebuild our process technology roadmap,” Tan continued. “I am eager to join the company and build upon the work the entire Intel team has been doing to position our business for the future.”
Intel's shares jumped four per cent on the announcement, as investors bet that Tan – who holds a nuclear engineering Master's from MIT and a physics degree from Nanyang Technological University – has the technical chops to help the company reclaim its crown from rivals like Nvidia and AMD.
