Change of Leadership at Intel's Client, Data Center and Foundry Groups
Intel Corporation has announced a key series of appointments in its leadership across its core business groups. The changes come as part of a wider strategy to strengthen product divisions, build out foundry services, and develop an engineering culture across the corporation.
New Leaders for Core Product Groups
Intel has recruited new general managers for its largest two product divisions, the Client Computing Group (CCG) and the Data Center Group (DCG).
- Jim Johnson to Lead CCG: After serving in an interim capacity, Jim Johnson has been appointed senior vice president and general manager of the CCG, officially sanctioning the role for a forty-year Intel veteran. He will lead the company's PC and edge ecosystem efforts.
- Kevork Kechichian to Lead DCG: From Arm, Kevork Kechichian comes to become the executive vice president and general manager of DCG at Intel. He will lead the data center business, which includes the Intel Xeon processor family. Kechichian brings more than 30 years of industry experience with other executive management experience at NXP and Qualcomm.
Central Engineering Group Forms with Expanded Foundry Role
Intel has made these internal structural changes to align innovation with execution around engineering and for foundry.
- Jim Johnson to Lead Central Engineering Group: Srinivasan (Srini) Iyengar has been appointed to lead the newly set-up Central Engineering Group with responsibilities for horizontal engineering functions and setting up a custom silicon business for external customers. Iyengar came to Intel from Cadence Design Systems.
- Naga Chandrasekaran Broadens Foundry Leadership: Naga Chandrasekaran, executive vice president and CTO/COO of Intel Foundry, will expand his role with the Foundry Services. This move aims to create a much more integrated structure that combines technology development with foundry manufacturing and customer service.
All these newly appointed leaders; Kechichian, Johnson, Iyengar, and Chandrasekaran, will be reporting directly to Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
Exit of Michelle Johnston Holthaus
Intel announced the exit of Michelle Johnston Holthaus, chief executive of Intel Products and former interim co-CEO and general manager of CCG. After over thirty years in the company, she will stay on as a strategic advisor for the transition period.
Broader Strategy and CEO View
This leadership change is part of an overarching turnaround strategy articulated by CEO Lip-Bu Tan considering the need to shift Intel culture. According to Tan's approach, the plan consists of flattening the organizational structure by eliminating layers of management to increase accountability and promptness in decision-making.
One major priority for Intel is to fix its core x86 business, create a clear plan for AI, make foundry business operating profit, and fix its balance sheet. Intel wants the foundry to be at operational profit break-even by the end of 2027, focused on driving volume on its 18A process node with its own products.
Intel executives also reaffirmed the commitment to the next-generation 14A process, stating that "we are all in on 14A development" and are in active discussions with external customers in the early definitional phases of the technology evaluation.
