Pat Gelsinger has stepped down as CEO of Intel, retiring after a 40-plus-year career in the industry.
Intel has named two senior leaders, David Zinsner and Michelle (MJ) Johnston Holthaus, as interim co-CEOs while the board of directors searches for a new CEO.
Zinsner is executive vice-president and chief financial officer, and Holthaus has been appointed to the newly created position of CEO of Intel Products, a group that encompasses the company’s Client Computing Group (CCG), Data Centre and AI Group (DCAI) and Network and Edge Group (NEX).
Frank Yeary, independent chair of the board of Intel, will become interim executive chair during the period of transition. Intel Foundry leadership structure remains unchanged.
Yeary says: “On behalf of the board, I want to thank Pat for his many years of service and dedication to Intel across a long career in technology leadership. Pat spent his formative years at Intel, then returned at a critical time for the company in 2021. As a leader, Pat helped launch and revitalize process manufacturing by investing in state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing, while working tirelessly to drive innovation throughout the company.
“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.
“As a board, we know first and foremost that we must put our product group at the centre of all we do. Our customers demand this from us, and we will deliver for them.
“With MJ’s permanent elevation to CEO of Intel Products along with her interim co-CEO role of Intel, we are ensuring the product group will have the resources needed to deliver for our customers.
“Ultimately, returning to process leadership is central to product leadership, and we will remain focused on that mission while driving greater efficiency and improved profitability,” he adds.
“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.”
Gelsinger comments: “Leading Intel has been the honour of my lifetime – this group of people is among the best and the brightest in the business, and I’m honoured 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.
“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.”
Throughout Gelsinger’s tenure at Intel across a variety of roles, he has driven significant innovation and advanced not only the business but the broader global technology industry. He has played an instrumental role in focusing on innovation while also creating a sense of urgency throughout the organisation. Gelsinger began his career in 1979 at Intel, growing at the company to eventually become its first chief technology officer.
He left to head up VMware, then returned to Intel as CEO in 2021.
Zinsner and Holthaus say: “We are grateful for Pat’s commitment to Intel over these many years as well as his leadership. We will redouble our commitment to Intel Products and meeting customer needs. With our product and process leadership progressing, we will be focused on driving returns on foundry investments.”
Zinsner has more than 25 years of financial and operational experience in semiconductors, manufacturing and the technology industry. He joined Intel in January 2022 from Micron Technology, where he was executive vice-president and chief financial officer. Zinsner served in a variety of other leadership roles earlier in his career, including president and chief operating officer at Affirmed Networks and senior vice president of finance and CFO at Analog Devices.
Holthaus began her career with Intel nearly three decades ago. Prior to being named CEO of Intel Products, she was executive vice-president and GM of CCG. Holthaus has held a variety of management and leadership roles at Intel, including chief revenue officer and GM of the sales and marketing group, and lead of global CCG sales.