The Intel Corporation announced Wednesday that a new CEO has been appointed to lead the struggling company.
Lip-Bu Tan will begin serving as the company's chief executive officer effective March 18, according to an Intel news release.
Tan, 65, will take over the daunting job next Tuesday, more than three months after Intel’s previous CEO, Pat Gelsinger, abruptly retired amid a deepening downturn that triggered massive layoffs and raised questions about the chipmaker’s ability to survive as an independent company.
Intel has been lead by interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle (MJ) Johnston Holthaus since Gelsinger's retirement.
Tan will also rejoin Intel's board of directors after stepping down in August of last year.
“I am honored to join Intel as CEO. 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 said. “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. 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."
The company said Tan is a longtime technology investor and executive with more than 20 years of semiconductor and software experience.
Tan served as CEO of Cadence Design Systems from 2009 to 2021.
Zinsner will continue serving as Intel's executive vice president and chief financial officer. Johnston Holthaus will continue as CEO of Intel Products.
Although Gelsinger arrived at Intel amid high hopes, his tenure was a major letdown as Intel’s stock price plunged 60%, wiping out $160 billion in shareholder wealth. Leading up to his departure last year, Intel laid of 17,500 of its employees — about 15% of its workforce — and suspended its dividend to save money on its way to an annual loss of $19 billion.
More recently, Intel delayed the opening of two new chip factories i n Ohio to ensure the projects are completed in a “financially responsible manner.” The project is supposed to draw upon the $7.8 billion in funding earmarked for Intel in the CHIPS Incentives Program created during the administration of President Joe Biden.
Intel has invested nearly $7 billion so far to build two microchip production facilities in Licking County. The project's total cost now stands at $28 billion.
The company broke ground on the facilities in Licking County less than three years ago, saying they could be up and running by sometime this year, but have since announced the facilities will not be ready for operation until at least 2031.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
