Intel appoints former board member Lip-Bu Tan as CEO

Intel has appointed Lip-Bu Tan, a former board member of the struggling chipmaker, as its new CEO.

Previously the CEO of Cadence Design Systems, Tan was an Intel board member until he quit last year citing other commitments.

Tan, a chip industry veteran, replaces interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and MJ Holthaus, who took temporary charge in December when Patrick Gelsinger was ousted as CEO.

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 becoming CEO, Intel said in a statement.

“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.

Tan will also rejoin Intel’s board.

“I am honored to join Intel as CEO,” Lip-Bu Tan said in a statement. “I have tremendous respect and admiration for this iconic company, and I see significant opportunities to remake our business in ways that serve our customers better and create value for our shareholders.”

Tan is taking charge amid one of the most difficult phases in the history of the chipmaker, once a symbol of American dominance in the semiconductor industry.

Not only has Intel lost its lead in process manufacturing to Taiwan’s TSMC, it has also failed to catch up in the booming AI sector, where Nvidia has left the competition behind.

According to a report by Reuters, a consortium of companies led by TSMC and including Nvidia and Broadcom is in talks to take over Intel’s manufacturing business.

“In areas where we have momentum, we need to double down and extend our advantage,” Tan said in a statement on Intel’s website. “In areas where we are behind the competition, we need to take calculated risks to disrupt and leapfrog. And in areas where our progress has been slower than expected, we need to find ways to pick up the pace.”

Tan is the fourth permanent CEO at Intel in seven years.  

He has held positions at various tech companies, including Annapurna Labs, AMEC, HPE, and Schneider Electric. Early in his career, he founded the venture capital firm Walden International (it later merged with Catalyst Ventures.) He has also worked in the Chinese chipmaking giant SMIC. 

Tan holds a Bachelor of Science in physics from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, a Master of Science in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of San Francisco. In 2022, he received the Robert N. Noyce Award, the Semiconductor Industry Association’s highest honor.