Former Intel board member Lip-Bu Tan, who resigned from that role in August 2024 over reported clashes with the board and with former CEO Pat Gelsinger, was appointed to be the company’s new permanent CEO in a move aimed at bringing a chip-savvy executive in to steer Intel into the future.
Intel Wednesday named longtime tech investor and executive Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO, effective March 18.
Tan takes over for Intel interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus. Zinsner and Holthaus took over the top spot at Intel after former CEO Pat Gelsinger suddenly left the company in December.
Tan, whose age was listed at 64 in March 2024 in a public filing, is no stranger to Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel. Tan served as CEO of chip design tool provider Cadence Systems from 2009 to 2021, and was a member of the board of Intel from 2022 to 2024. He currently serves on the boards of currently serving on the boards of data infrastructure market-focused Credo Technology Group and Schneider Electric.
He is also a founding managing partner of Walden Catalyst Ventures and chairman of venture firm Walden International.
[Related: Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Retires Amid Financial Struggles, Comeback Plan]
However, Tan reportedly clashed with Gelsinger and other board directors over his concerns about Intel’s “bloated workforce, risk-averse culture and lagging [AI] strategy,” Reuters reported then. Tan stepped down from the Intel board in August 2024 and said his decision was based on “demands on his time,” according to a regulatory filing at the time.
“This is a personal decision based on a need to reprioritize various commitments and I remain supportive of the company and its important work,” he said at the time.
The Intel board later considered Tan as one of its top candidates for the Intel CEO role, alongside Marvell Technology CEO Matt Murphy and other outsiders, Reuters reported in December. Both reports cited anonymous sources familiar with the discussions around the issues.
During his time at Cadence Systems, Tan led the company to double its revenue and increased its share prices by over 3,200 percent.
Investors were happy about the appointment of Tan as Intel CEO, driving the company’s share prices up more than 10 percent in after-hours trading to about $23 per share compared to the price of $19.78 at the close of the trading day. The stock is down more than 50 percent over the past 12 months.
Intel declined to provide further comment on the announcement beyond its press release.
However, interim chairman of the board Frank Yeary, in a prepared statement, called Tan 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.
“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,” Yeary said.
With the appointment of Tan as Intel’s new CEO, Zinsner will continue his permanent role as executive vice president and chief financial officer, while Johnston Holthaus will continue as CEO of Intel Products.
At the same time, Yeary will revert to being the independent chair of Intel’s board.
Dylan Martin and David Harris contributed to this story.
