Seven months after Lip-Bu Tan had abruptly departed Intel’s board over reported differences with Pat Gelsinger, comes the news he has returned to lead the troubled US chip giant.

Intel announced on Wednesday that “its board of directors has appointed Lip-Bu Tan, an accomplished technology leader with deep semiconductor industry experience, as chief executive officer, effective 18 March.”

It comes after Intel in December had shortlisted a handful of candidates, including Lip-Bu Tan, for the role of chief executive.

This was days after former CEO Pat Gelsinger had been “retired from the company”.

Lip-Bu Tan

Gelsinger’s departure came after a contentious board meeting over his perceived failure to respond to Nvidia’s competitive edge and a lack of confidence in his turnaround plan.

Intel then named two senior leaders, David Zinsner and Michelle (MJ) Johnston Holthaus, as interim co-chief executive officers while the board conducted a search for a new CEO.

Now Intel has appointed Lip-Bu Tan as CEO, and he will also rejoin Intel’s board of directors.

David Zinsner will remain executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Michelle Johnston Holthaus will remain CEO of Intel Products.

“Lip-Bu is an exceptional leader whose technology industry expertise, deep relationships across the product and foundry ecosystems, and proven track record of creating shareholder value is exactly what Intel needs in its next CEO,” said board chair Frank D. Yeary. “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.

“Like many across the industry, I have worked closely with Lip-Bu in the past and have seen firsthand how his relentless attention to customers drives innovation and success,” Yeary continued. “We are delighted to have Lip-Bu as our CEO as we work to accelerate our turnaround and capitalize on the significant growth opportunities ahead.

“I am honoured to join Intel as CEO,” said Tan. “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.”

Who is Lip-Bu Tan?

Lip-Bu Tan is a highly respected chip industry veteran and he had joined Intel’s board a couple of years ago in order to help with the chipmaker’s turnaround efforts.

Tan has vast experience of the chip industry. Tan had served since 2021 as executive chairman of Cadence, and since 2004 as a member of its board. He also served as CEO of Cadence from 2009 to 2021 and as president from 2009 to 2017.

He also served on the boards of Credo Technology Group and Schneider Electric SE.

At Carnegie Mellon University, Tan served on the board of trustees and the School of Engineering Dean’s Council; and at the University of California, Berkeley, he served on the Engineering Advisory Board and its Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society Advisory Board.

Previously, he served as a director of several public companies, including SoftBank Group Corp. from 2020 to 2022; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company from 2015 to 2021; Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment China; and Flextronics International Ltd.

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.

Tan was named the 2022 recipient of the Semiconductor Industry Association’s highest honour, the Robert N. Noyce Award.

Tan is also founding managing partner of Celesta Capital and Walden Catalyst Ventures.

Geslinger clash

Tan’s appointment as Intel CEO is a remarkable development, considering it was only in August 2024 when Lip-Bu Tan had suddenly informed Intel’s board that he would be leaving, “effective immediately,” stating it was a “personal decision.”

Lip-Bu Tan’s departure from Intel’s board last August came reports of differences with Pat Gelsinger and other directors, over what Tan considered Intel’s bloated workforce, risk-averse culture, and lagging artificial intelligence strategy.

Intel’s board had expanded Tan’s responsibilities in October 2023, authorising him to oversee manufacturing operations.

But over time, Tan had reportedly grew frustrated by Intel’s large workforce, its approach to contract manufacturing, and Intel’s risk-averse and bureaucratic culture.

His appointment at a struggling Intel will thus be closed watched by industry observers.