Chipmaker Intel has appointed Lip-Bu Tan as its CEO, effective 18 March.
He replaces Pat Gelsinger who resigned from the company in December last year. David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus were interim co-chief executive officers since Gelsinger's departure.
Zinsner will remain executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Holthaus will remain CEO of Intel Products, says the firm.
Frank 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, it adds.
In a note to shareholders, Yeary says: “Lip-Bu is an exceptional leader whose technology industry expertise, deep relationships across our 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 notes that as CEO of Cadence Design Systems from 2009 to 2021, Tan led a reinvention of the company and drove a cultural transformation centered on customer-centric innovation.
He adds that during his time as CEO, Cadence more than doubled its revenue, expanded operating margins and delivered a stock price appreciation of more than 3 200%.
“He also knows Intel well, both as a partner when he ran Cadence and having recently served on our board.
“On behalf of the entire board and indeed the entire company, I want to express sincere gratitude for the strong leadership displayed by Michelle Johnston Holthaus and Dave Zinsner as interim co-CEOs.”
Says Tan: “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.
“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,” Tan continued. “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.
“Intel is a company I have long admired. Since I was a child, I have been captivated by the power of science, technology and engineering — and Intel’s innovation has been at the heart of so many world-changing breakthroughs along the way.
Under his leadership, Tan says Intel will be an engineering-focused company. “We will push ourselves to develop the best products, listen intently to our customers and hold ourselves accountable to the commitments we make so that we build trust.”
Tan served as a member of the Cadence board of directors for 19 years, from his appointment in 2004 through his service as executive chairman from 2021 to 2023 following his tenure as CEO.
He is also a founding managing partner of Walden Catalyst Ventures and chairman of Walden International. He has significant public company board experience, currently serving on the boards of Credo Technology Group and Schneider Electric.
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.
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