Intel CEO is leaving, they are still looking for a full-fledged replacement

Out of the blue, Intel released a press release today regarding CEO Pat Gelsinger. He has decided to retire and is leaving the company, or has already left, effective December 1st.

Gelsinger worked for the company for more than 30 years, starting there in 1979 when he was just 18 years old. Ten years later, he was already leading the development of the Intel 486 processor. At the age of 32, he became vice president and later technical director.

He already left the company once, namely in 2009, but returned to it in 2021 as the CEO who was supposed to save Intel. During his period, significant investments were made in chip factories and in the manufacturing processes themselves.

We won’t know until next year whether Intel’s big comeback will be a success, when the 18A manufacturing process that Gelsinger has relied on for almost everything is ready, and with it the products that will be made at 18A. Namely Clearwater Forest processors for servers and Panther Lake for laptops.

This may well be the last chance to reverse the decline of the once dominant processor company. 18A is going to be used not only by Intel itself, but also wants to offer it to companies that today produce their chips at TSMC or Samsung.

In any case, the turnaround will not be easy; Intel’s recent financial quarters have been very poor, which has also affected the stock price. In the summer, the company laid off 15 thousand employees and launched a large-scale restructuring. It was in the midst of these changes that Gelsinger left the company, and Intel does not yet have a full-fledged successor, who has yet to be found.

He temporarily appointed a pair of co-CEOs: an executive vice president and a chief financial officer. David Zinsner And Michelle Johnston Holthauswho was also named director of the newly created Intel Products division, which covers almost everything that belongs to the Intel Foundries, in addition to the manufacturing itself.

“Leading Intel has been the greatest honor of my life” Gelsinger wrote about this on Twitter. “I am grateful to all the colleagues around the world with whom I have worked in the Intel family, and I can look back with pride on all that we have achieved together. Thanks everyone!”

“We are grateful for Pat’s dedication to Intel over the years and for his leadership,” new co-CEOs Zinsner and Holthaus comment on the announcement. “We will redouble our commitment to Intel products and customer satisfaction. With our products and process leadership, we will focus on the return on investment in our plants.”