Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger announces retirement, co-CEOs named during tumultuous period

[zohaibahd]

What just happened? Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has announced his retirement after more than 40 years with the chip giant. His last day on the job was December 1. Reflecting on his tenure, Gelsinger expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to lead the company but acknowledged the challenges of the past year, which required tough strategic decisions to adapt to current market conditions.

"Leading Intel has been the honor of my lifetime – this group of people is among the best and the brightest in the business, and I'm honored to call each and every one a colleague. Today is, of course, bittersweet as this company has been my life for the bulk of my working career. I can look back with pride at all that we have accomplished together," Gelsinger said.

"It has been a challenging year for all of us as we have made tough but necessary decisions to position Intel for the current market dynamics. I am forever grateful for the many colleagues around the world who I have worked with as part of the Intel family," he added.

In light of Gelsinger's surprise retirement, Intel has appointed two seasoned executives as interim co-CEOs: David Zinsner and Michelle "MJ" Johnston Holthaus. Zinsner, currently Intel's CFO, will share leadership responsibilities with Holthaus, a nearly 30-year Intel veteran who most recently led the Client Computing Group.

Also read: Intel's gathering storm and why it needs to stay the course

The co-CEO structure brings together complementary expertise. Zinsner has more than 25 years of experience in finance, including previous CFO roles in the tech sector. Holthaus, a long-serving Intel leader, brings deep operational knowledge of the company's core product groups.

Intel's board chairman, Frank Yeary, explained that this unorthodox co-CEO approach is designed to ensure product teams have the resources and support needed during this transition. He emphasized the critical importance of regaining Intel's manufacturing edge to maintain product leadership.

Yeary credited Gelsinger's efforts to boost Intel's manufacturing through new fab investments. However, he acknowledged more progress is needed to restore investor confidence after the company's recent struggles.

Indeed, Intel stock has almost halved this year, though it also rose 6% in premarket trading on Monday. Though today's figures point to a rally following this news, analysts predict that Intel's efforts to revamp its manufacturing processes are unlikely to yield significant financial improvements until late 2025.

The company's poor financial performance has been exacerbated by delays in its manufacturing processes, subpar product launches, and market share losses. Hardships such as CPU crashes, yield issues, job cuts, and the rise of competitors AMD and Nvidia have further strained the business.

To navigate this period, Intel's board has formed a committee to find a permanent CEO replacement. Yeary said the interim leaders will prioritize simplifying Intel's product lineup and improving operational efficiency.

On Intel's future (opinion): Could Broadcom buy Intel?

"With Dave and MJ's leadership, we will continue to act with urgency on our priorities: simplifying and strengthening our product portfolio and advancing our manufacturing and foundry capabilities while optimizing our operating expenses and capital. We are working to create a leaner, simpler, more agile Intel," Yeary concluded in the press release.

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Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger announces retirement, co-CEOs named during tumultuous period

 

[wiyosaya]

Yes. Now Intel is only in your rear-view mirror, Pat. Dumb-***.

 

[maxxcool7421]

Given that this guy does not desigh cpus, or build fabs, or run wafer processing this is not his fault at all. this is all manufacturing sides fault .. yet another sign that US cannot compete on a global scale (TSMC) and US ''engineering'' is sub par for the payscale.

oh and deride or feel bad for pat all you want.. he is taking almost 300 million with him and I bet you money he ends up working with Jim Keller in less than 5 months on Tenstornet ..

 

[trparky]

Pat didn't retire; he got retired.

Pat was given an ultimatum: either retire (with a semblance of honor) or be handed a box, told to clean out his desk, and unceremoniously shown the door. Pat chose the first option.

 

[Billybobjoey]

Considering how sudden this is, I think trparky's right. Usually with this sort of thing if it's a graceful departure they'll stick around until they can find a more permanent replacement. So, do we think things are gonna get worse before they get better for Intel? I'm leaning towards yes.

 

[trparky]

So, do we think things are gonna get worse before they get better for Intel? I'm leaning towards yes.

There's no doubt about that. Things are going to get way worse for Intel before they get any better. If I were a betting man, I'd wager they have about three or four remaining years of pain. Maybe more.

They need to go back to the damn drawing board and design a clean-slate microarchitecture. Until they do so, AMD will continue kicking their asses.

 

[wiyosaya]

They need to go back to the damn drawing board and design a clean-slate microarchitecture. Until they do so, AMD will continue kicking their asses.

From the rear-view mirror thanks to Pat and his hubris.

 

[unoficialoficial]

Every company has many different departments, such as the sales department, marketing department, legal department, production department, R&D department, management department etc. All these departments contribute value to the company and the absence of any one can be catastrophic. However, for every company the value contributed by some departments is more crucial than that of others. If a CEO is not selected from the department that contributes the highest quality value, employees from that department may develop negative feelings and fail to function effectively. Consequently, the company’s most valuable department could become dysfunctional.

For Intel, a company focused on advanced technology, the R&D and production departments are particularly critical. Appointing a CEO from the sales or financial departments would be akin to taking painkillers – it might reduce immediate discomfort but ultimately hides deeper issues. While this practice is common, it is not necessarily wise. Therefore, Intel should consider selecting between keeping software expert (Pat) as CEO or pick an engineer from either R&D or production (fabs) for the CEO role.

 

[J Oelschl]

Unbelievable. I had hopes when he returned but those hopes were dashed with a few of his decisions. This may be controvertial but I think they should bring in Dr. Lisa Su and merge with AMD and let Dr Su run the entire thing. She saved AMD and made it thrive. She could work her magic once more and get the FAB side of Intel back to where it should be. It it the only hope of competing against NVidia.
Another option would be to allow NVidia to buy them. Hiring a person from FINANCE would be DISASTROUS and most likely the END of Intel. It would be the final nail in the coffin. It needs an engineering superstar like Dr. Lisa Su at the helm where the engineers cannot buffalo them as to what can or cannot be done

 

[Dreadcthulhu]

So, does Jensen & Dr. Su have any other cousins who would be interested in the job?

 

[gamerk2]

Given that this guy does not desigh cpus, or build fabs, or run wafer processing this is not his fault at all. this is all manufacturing sides fault .. yet another sign that US cannot compete on a global scale (TSMC) and US ''engineering'' is sub par for the payscale.

oh and deride or feel bad for pat all you want.. he is taking almost 300 million with him and I bet you money he ends up working with Jim Keller in less than 5 months on Tenstornet ..

The problem is all these engineering firms are run by financial guys now, who are focused on short-term stock gains over long term sustained success.

 

[trparky]

This may be controvertial but I think they should bring in Dr. Lisa Su and merge with AMD and let Dr Su run the entire thing. She saved AMD and made it thrive. She could work her magic once more and get the FAB side of Intel back to where it should be.

Yes, very controversial since that would leave only one x86 producing company in the world creating an absolute monopoly. No way that would be allowed by the DoJ.

 

[umeng2002]

The problem is all these engineering firms are run by financial guys now, who are focused on short-term stock gains over long term sustained success.

Exactly. And let's not forget that all major companies hire from around the world. STEM is a small field. Companies need good people no matter what country they are from.

 

[Kashim]

Be right back... going to find the world's smallest violin so I can play it for Pat and Intel.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I for one am loving the fact that Intel is finally getting their comeuppance. All the bullying, payoffs, and shady business practices of Intel in the 90's is why they deserve what they're getting now. I hope they get as close to bankruptcy and falling apart as AMD did back then.

 

[Watzupken]

The problem is all these engineering firms are run by financial guys now, who are focused on short-term stock gains over long term sustained success.

Intel failed to learn from past mistakes, and seems like their board and shareholders only wants instant gratification by means of quick profits. The state of Intel now is largely not cause by Pat in my humble opinion. The foundry was already losing its edge getting stuck on Intel 14nm ++++ to the point I lost count of the number of + they added. CPU design wise, I feel they were not making progress either. 4 generations from Sky to Comet Lake were based on the same chip, more cores, higher clock speed, etc. Rocket Lake was a hot mess.
Personally, the number of CEO changes over the last decade over at Intel is not going to help them. In fact, these CEOs are under intense pressure to turn the profitability around so much so that the firm’s direction keeps changing, with no time for changes to settle and determine if it’s working. I do feel that Pat’s foundry push may be a big mistake because it may be helpful for Intel, but I don’t think it is cost competitive if they open up their foundry business to other chip competitors, not to mention that it’s very awkward to share chip making secrets with a serious competitor like Intel. Adding on to the pain, Intel themselves are not using their own foundry, which optically is not a good message to potential customers.

 

[j4ni1]

So, does Jensen & Dr. Su have any other cousins who would be interested in the job?

They could bring in Rory Read, AMD's previous CEO. He was more than decent: Under his tenure got RyZEN designed.

 

[Alfatawi Mendel]

You have to feel a little sympathy for P. Gelsinger. He was dealt a horrendous hand by the previous Intel Suits.
Can't see the resultant management by committee helping the decline though.

 

[Bamda]

Just too much greatness from Pat. LOL

 

[Bamda]

There's no doubt about that. Things are going to get way worse for Intel before they get any better. If I were a betting man, I'd wager they have about three or four remaining years of pain. Maybe more.

They need to go back to the damn drawing board and design a clean-slate microarchitecture. Until they do so, AMD will continue kicking their asses.

Glad there are plenty of Intel Fanboy willing to lick Intel *** till than. LOL.

 

[Bamda]

On his watch he almost took Intel down. What a legacy. None will ever forget his name.

 

[ZedRM]

What's with all the hate? Pat wasn't the most successful CEO ever but was he really that bad?

Pat didn't retire; he got retired.

Pat was given an ultimatum: either retire (with a semblance of honor) or be handed a box, told to clean out his desk, and unceremoniously shown the door. Pat chose the first option.

That was not in the above article. Techspot is not shy with dishing out the dirt, so where did you get that from?

 

[trparky]

That was not in the above article. Techspot is not shy with dishing out the dirt, so where did you get that from?

Considering how Intel's market performance has been dismal at best, the board needed a scapegoat. They needed someone to put the blame for their mistakes. And Pat was it.

 

[ZedRM]

Considering how Intel's market performance has been dismal at best

Defective CPU products and the PR nightmare that followed will do that. None of that was PG's fault though. That engineering was well underway before he took over as CEO. They can't blame him for something he didn't do.

the board needed a scapegoat.

Yeah ok, I'll buy that. I just googled the subject and it looks like there is a lot of that talk all over the place. More than very dumb. I don't think Intel's BoD has more than a few brain cells to rub together so maybe they did him a favor pushing him out.

 

[MasterAce]

Given that this guy does not desigh cpus, or build fabs, or run wafer processing this is not his fault at all. this is all manufacturing sides fault .. yet another sign that US cannot compete on a global scale (TSMC) and US ''engineering'' is sub par for the payscale.

oh and deride or feel bad for pat all you want.. he is taking almost 300 million with him and I bet you money he ends up working with Jim Keller in less than 5 months on Tenstornet ..

I’m afraid it’s the whole western half of the world that’s too comfortable to compete with the eastern part