Intel appoints new boss: Lip-Bu Tan

Intel has a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). It is the rumor mill's favorite Lip-Bu Tan, once head of Cadences, a leading provider of chip design software. From August 2022, Tan sat on the very Intel Board of Directors that has now appointed him CEO. In August 2024, he apparently resigned in a dispute over Intel's future direction. Now he is not only taking over the position of CEO, but also a seat on the Board of Directors again.

Intel announced this on Wednesday after the close of the US stock exchange. Intel shares rose sharply in after-hours trading, currently up over 18 percent. "I see significant opportunities to reshape our business to better serve our customers and create value for our shareholders," said Tan on the occasion of his appointment.

Born in what is now Malaysia, Tan grew up in Singapore and studied nuclear science and business management there and in the USA. Now 65, he is a US citizen and has previously managed a venture capital company that he founded. His CV includes board memberships at Schneider Electric and Hewlett Packard, among others. From 2008 to 2021, he was CEO of Cadences. This company offers software for chip development, the design tools (Electronic Design Automation, EDA). Cadence works with all industry giants, so Tan brings chip production expertise to the table.

From frustrated man to frontman

According to media reports, Tan was frustrated last summer because his recommendations to make Intel Foundry more customer-centric and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy were not implemented. He is also said to have had different ideas regarding personnel planning: Tan is said to have suggested in vain that the middle management level in particular should be reduced, as it contributed little to Intel's technical developments. Tan then resigned from the board of directors at Intel. At the time, more than 15,000 of Intel' s 117,000 jobs were made redundant. It would come as no surprise if Tan were soon to take the axe to middle management.

Tan's predecessor Pat Gelsinger had to resign at the beginning of December. Not only as CEO, but also as a member of the Board of Directors. The latter proposes a departure that was not characterized by mutual affection and recognition. CFO David Zinsner and Head of Product Michelle Johnston Holthaus took over as acting CEOs, supported by Chairman of the Board Frank Yeary, who acted as Interim Executive Chair of the Board during the interregnum. All three will continue to work in their current roles under Tan.

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