Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel.
US-based chipmaker Intel has announced key executive appointments as it looks to turn around its faltering fortunes.
The once-dominant US company has been left trailing in the fast-growing artificial intelligence (AI) chip market, after years of management missteps eroded its competitive-edge.
As Intel looks to regain its mojo, last month the company entered into an agreement with the Trump Administration to support the continued expansion of American technology and manufacturing leadership.
Under terms of the agreement, the US government will make an $8.9 billion investment in Intel common stock.
According to Companies Market Cap, Nvidia ($4.3 trillion) is currently leading the global semiconductor market, with Intel ($110 billion) at number 17.
Intel says the executive appointments support its strategy to strengthen its core product business, build a trusted foundry and foster a culture of engineering across the business.
Kevork Kechichian has joined Intel as executive vice-president and general manager of the Data Centre Group. In this role, he will lead Intel’s data centre business across cloud and enterprise, including the Intel Xeon processor family.
In a statement, Intel says Kechichian brings more than 30 years of industry experience, and joins the company from rival ARM, where he most recently served as executive vice-president of engineering.
At ARM, he led technology development with ecosystem partners and managed the company’s transformation from IP licensing to delivering full-stack solutions. His previous leadership roles include senior engineering positions at NXP Semiconductors and Qualcomm, it notes.
“Kevork brings a powerful combination of strategic vision, technical depth and operational rigor that will help us seize growth opportunities across the data centre market,” says Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel.
Driving continued progress
Jim Johnson has been appointed as senior vice-president and general manager of Intel’s Client Computing Group, after serving in the role on an interim basis.
He will lead Intel’s efforts to deliver innovative computing solutions and foster growth across the global PC and edge ecosystems.
A 40-year Intel veteran, Johnson has held various engineering and leadership roles across the company, including in the Technology and Manufacturing Group, the Networking and Communications Group, and general manager of several global businesses and manufacturing plants.
“Jim’s steady leadership and trusted relationships across the computing industry are driving continued progress in our client business as we prepare to launch a new generation of products,” Tan says.
Intel is also establishing a new Central Engineering Group led by Srinivasan (Srini) Iyengar, a senior vice-president and fellow.
In his expanded role, Iyengar will lead horizontal engineering functions and build a new custom silicon business to serve a broad range of external customers.
Iyengar joined Intel in June from Cadence Design Systems, where he led global silicon engineering. He brings technical expertise in custom silicon development and has worked closely with hyperscale data centre customers to optimise solutions for key workloads, Intel notes.
“With Srini leading Central Engineering, we’re aligning innovation and execution more tightly in service to customers,” Tan says. “We are laser-focused on delivering world-class products and empowering our engineering teams to move faster and execute with excellence. Kevork, Jim and Srini are exceptional leaders, whose deep technical acumen and industry relationships will be instrumental as we continue building a new Intel.”
The company adds that Naga Chandrasekaran, executive vice-president and chief technology and operations officer of Intel Foundry, will expand his role to include Foundry Services.
It explains that this will create a more integrated structure spanning technology development, manufacturing and go-to-market to better serve customers. Intel consolidated technology development and manufacturing under Chandrasekaran’s leadership earlier this year, it says.
Chandrasekaran joined Intel in 2024 from Micron, where he served as senior vice-president for technology development. He brings decades of experience spanning the breadth of semiconductor manufacturing and R&D.
“Naga’s strong leadership, combined with a more integrated foundry operating model, will help us enhance the quality of execution, collaboration and customer service across our foundry business,” Tan says.
Chandrasekaran will continue reporting to Tan. Kevin O’Buckley continues as senior vice-president and general manager of Foundry Services, reporting to Chandrasekaran.
Additionally, Intel announced that Michelle Johnston Holthaus, chief executive of Intel Products, will depart after more than three decades with the company.
Holthaus held numerous senior leadership roles, including interim co-CEO, executive vice-president and general manager of CCG, and chief revenue officer. She will remain a strategic advisor over the coming months to ensure a seamless transition.
“Throughout her incredible career, Michelle has transformed major businesses, built high-performing teams and worked to delight our customers,” Tan says. “She has made a lasting impact on our company and inspired so many of us with her leadership. We are grateful for all Michelle has given Intel and wish her the best.”
