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Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger retires after tumultuous tenure leading the chip giant

Intel (INTC) announced Monday that CEO Pat Gelsinger retired effective Dec. 1 and stepped down from the company’s board of directors. He had led aggressive efforts to turn around the troubled US chipmaker for more than three years.

Intel stock was up more than 3% on the news in early trading.

A person familiar with the matter told Yahoo Finance the board had lost confidence in Gelsinger, and a change was needed ahead of 2025. The person added the decision was made by a small group of people inside Intel, with the leadership team only being made aware Sunday afternoon.

It’s unclear if Intel continues along Gelsinger’s expensive expansion into making chips for other companies, the source said.

Intel has named CFO David Zinsner and Intel Products CEO Michelle Johnston as interim co-CEOs. The company said its board has formed a search committee and “will work diligently and expeditiously to find a permanent successor to Gelsinger.”

“While we have made significant progress in regaining manufacturing competitiveness and building the capabilities to be a world-class foundry, we know that we have much more work to do at the company and are committed to restoring investor confidence,” said Intel chair Frank Year in a statement.

Gelsinger had previously spent 30 years at Intel but left in 2009. He rejoined the company in 2021, and assumed the role of chief executive, taking over for Bob Swan.

Gelsinger promised that his tenure would bring back a “Grovian” mindset to the company and right years of missteps that saw Intel lose its edge in the chip market to AI chip design leader Nvidia (NVDA) and chip manufacturing giant TSMC. That goal referred to former CEO Andy Grove, who oversaw a spectacular turnaround for the company in the 1980s, when Intel struggled to maintain its dominance in the memory chip market amid competition from Japan — and made a dramatic shift toward making another kind of chip, called CPUs, of which it became the leading manufacturer.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger speaks while holding a new chip, called Gaudi 3, during an event called AI Everywhere in New York, on Dec. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) · ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gelsinger’s approach included aggressive manufacturing process improvements as well as a shift toward manufacturing chips for other companies. But the move toward Intel’s money-losing foundry business has so far failed to bolster faith in Intel. Intel has recently become a takeover target.

Shares of the company are down more than 50% for the year and it was recently replaced by Nvidia in the Dow (DJIA). Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) is up 26%.

Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @LauraBratton5.

Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi contributed to this story.


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