Intel has tapped former Cadence CEO and Intel board member Lip-Bu Tan to lead the embattled x86 chipmaker as it struggles to overcome mounting losses stemming from its foundry business.
The announcement, made Wednesday afternoon, comes just over three months after Pat Gelsinger was abruptly dumped as chief exec with no succession plan to speak of.
Tan, who had been rumored as a possible replacement for Gelsinger as far back as December, is set to relieve interim co-CEOs Michelle (MJ) Johnston Holthaus and David Zinsner, on March 18.
The former Cadence boss and founder of VC outfit Walden Capital is well known throughout the semiconductor industry having served on the boards of numerous technology outfits including Samba Nova, Habana Labs, Nuvia, Inphi, Annapurna Labs, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Schneider Electric, and Softbank, to name just a handful.
Tan also has foundry experience having previously served on the board of directors of China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co (SMIC) — a fact that has raised eyebrows among some members of Congress.
In addition to SMIC, the Malaysia-born American served on Intel's board of directors from 2022 until departing in 2024 shortly after the chipmaker announced it was laying off 15 percent of its staff and slashing its capital and operating expenditures.
While Tan's reasons for leaving Intel's board were listed in an SEC filing as personal, media reports from the time described multiple clashes with Gelsinger over what Tan considered to be a bloated workforce and risk-averse culture.
Intel handout image for new CEO Lip-Bu Tan
Batter up ... New CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Source: Intel PR
"I am honored to join Intel as CEO," Tan said in a statement today, which also confirmed his return to the board of Intel.
"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."
The latter is certainly something Tan has a reputation for. During his decade-long tenure as CEO at Cadence Systems, Tan oversaw a roughly 3,200 percent increase in the electronic design giant's share price. And it seems Wall Street is rather optimistic he can repeat those successes at Intel, which saw its share price leap more than 11 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The x86 titan's stock had more than halved in value in the past year.
While investors may be happy with Intel's choice of CEOs, it's not the outcome everyone was hoping for. Late last month, former Intel boss Craig Barrett suggested the board ought to be sacked and Gelsinger given his job back.
Turning Intel's fortunes around won't be easy. In 2024 alone the American corporation reported $18.8 billion in losses (versus 2023's $1.7 billion profit) from $53.1 billion in revenues, down two percent annually, making it the worst year in Intel's history.
In a letter to Intel employees, Tan addressed the need for change throughout the nearly 57-year-old institution.
"We cannot take anything for granted, and we will do regular deep dives to assess our progress. In areas where we have momentum, we need to double down and extend our advantage," he wrote.
"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 new ways to pick up the pace."
What this will mean for struggling divisions like Intel Foundry he didn't say at this stage.
With Tan taking the helm, Zinsner is set to return to his role as CFO while Holthaus will continue on as CEO of Intel's Products division. ®