On Wednesday, struggling chipmaker Intel nominated former CEO board member Lip Butane on March 18, more than three months after IT company veteran Pat Gelsinger was banished.
A respected semiconductor industry veteran, Tan has long been considered a CEO candidate. He was approached by Intel's board of directors in December, Reuters reported to measure his interest in assuming the job.
The company's shares rose 12% in extended transactions.
Intel is undergoing a historic transition as it seeks to emerge from one of its darkest times. While struggling to acquire cash during the boom in investments in advanced AI chips, the company spends a lot of money to become a contract maker of chips for other companies, leading some investors to worry about the pressure on cash flow.
Tan is a long-standing technology investor with over 20 years of industry experience. He previously served as CEO of Intel Supplier Cadence Design Systems from 2009 to 2021 and was on its board.
“It seems like he likes the streets. He's a veteran in the semiconductor industry who is actively looking at AI startups, but he knows how to operate, so overall it looks like a good move.”
Tan left Intel's board last year over differences of opinion on how to turn the company around. He feels Intel has too many middle managers, and its manufacturing efforts for chip contracts are customer-centric and insufficient customer-centric, Reuters previously reported. Tan will be re-joining the board, Inter said.
The most consequential decisions faced by TANs are whether to maintain Intel's chip design and manufacturing operations together or split them.
Reuters reported that Intel's rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has approached some of Intel's biggest potential manufacturing customers when it came to forming a joint venture to operate Intel's factory.
Announcement of the appointment of the CEO did not mention any changes that may be ongoing in the company.
