Intel: New CTO & AI Chief Appointed Amid Leadership Shake-Up
Despite being in the job a little over a month, CEO Lip-Bu Tan is shaking up Intel’s operations from the inside out.
His plans for substantial change include focusing on the company’s chip production methods and AI strategies — including restructuring the company’s approach to AI and reducing staff numbers — while also revamping manufacturing opportunities.
Continuing this disruption at Intel, Lip-Bu has appointed a new Chief Technology and AI Officer, Sachin Katti.
Who is Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel?
Lip-Bu re-joined Intel in March as its CEO, having left the business in August 2024 after serving on its board for two years.
A seasoned technology executive and investor with more than two decades of semiconductor and software experience, Lup-Bu succeeds interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus.
He assumed his post as Intel faces intense competition and challenges in regaining leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and AI chip development.
Lip-Bu is recognised for his transformative leadership at Cadence Design Systems, where he served as CEO from 2009 to 2021. Under his leadership, Cadence more than doubled its revenue, expanded operating margins and achieved a stock price increase exceeding 3,200%.
During his career, he has also held positions at HPE and continues to serve on the boards of the likes of Schneider Electric and Carnegie Mellon University, as well as serving as Member of the School of Engineering Dean's Advisory Council at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
He is noted for customer-centric innovation and building high-performance cultures, qualities that Intel’s board believes are crucial for the company’s turnaround.
Frank D. Yeary, who served as interim Executive Chair during the CEO search and is Independent Chair of the Board, says: “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.
“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.”
Lip-Bu says: “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."
Introducing Intel’s new Chief Technology and AI Officer, Sachin Katti
Sachin is a Professor at Stanford University and will succeed Greg Lavender, who is retiring from Intel, according to a memo sent by Lip-Bu and seen by Reuters.
Previously SVP and GM of Intel’s Networking and Edge group, Sachin will be “expanding his responsibilities to include the role of chief technology and AI officer for the company,” the memo reads.
It also says: “As part of this, he will lead our overall AI strategy and AI product roadmap, as well as Intel Labs and our relationships with the startup and developer ecosystems.”
Sachin joined Intel in 2021 as the CTO of Intel’s Network and Edge Group before being promoted to its SVP and GM in 2023.
Intel’s leadership shake-up
As well as appointing Sachin into a new role, Lip-Bu’s memo outlines a flattening of the semiconductor giant’s leadership team.
Rob Bruckner, Mike Hurley and Lisa Pearce – VPs across Intel’s different technical groups – are set to report directly to the CEO as Lip-Bus streamlines his senior team.
The shake-up means Intel’s data centre and AI chip group, along with its personal-computer chip group, will report directly to the CEO in a bid to turn around the business after a turbulent few years
“I want to roll up my sleeves with the engineering and product teams so I can learn what’s needed to strengthen our solutions, Lip-Bu’s note says. “As Michelle and I drive this work, we plan to evolve and expand her role with more details to come in the future.”
Lip-Bu also says in the memo: “It’s clear to me that organisational complexity and bureaucratic processes have been slowly suffocating the culture of innovation we need to win.
“It takes too long to make decisions. New ideas are not given room or resources to incubate. Unnecessary silos lead to inefficient execution.”
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