Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan Flattens Management Construction, Names New AI Chief, Memo Says

Intel’s new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, is flattening the semiconductor big’s management workforce, with vital chip teams reporting on to him, in keeping with a memo from Tan seen by Reuters.

Intel has additionally promoted networking chip chief Sachin Katti to be chief know-how officer and synthetic intelligence chief, in keeping with the memo.

The management adjustments are the primary main transfer beneath Tan, who took the highest job final month, to show across the venerable Silicon Valley chipmaker after years of issues. Intel’s information middle and AI chip group, in addition to its personal-computer chip group, will report on to him.

They beforehand had been overseen by Michelle Johnston Holthaus, who stays chief government of Intel merchandise and whose work will broaden to new areas.

“I want to roll up my sleeves with the engineering and product teams so I can learn what’s needed to strengthen our solutions,” Tan wrote. “As Michelle and I drive this work, we plan to evolve and expand her role with more details to come in the future.”

The shakeup by Tan, who has promised a leaner model of the storied American chipmaker, follows an prolonged interval of turmoil at Santa Clara, California-based Intel.

The earlier chief left final yr following disagreements with its board of administrators over how you can flip the corporate round after years of producing and product missteps. A high problem is confronting the rise of Nvidia, which has turn into the dominant provider of AI chips.

‘Slowly Suffocating’ Innovation

Despite buying a number of AI chip startups, Intel didn’t decide on a coherent technique to problem Nvidia, and in January shelved its most up-to-date try, a chip known as Falcon Shores. Developing the brand new AI technique will fall to Katti.

Tan’s e mail says Katti “is expanding his responsibilities to include the role of chief technology and AI officer for the company. 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.”

Katti, who can be a professor at Stanford University, will succeed Greg Lavender, who’s retiring from Intel, in keeping with the memo.

Intel is on the lookout for a brand new head of presidency affairs, who will even report back to Tan, “given the critical importance of Government Affairs in a complex global environment,” the CEO wrote. The predecessor, Bruce Andrews, who had labored within the Commerce Department beneath then-President Barack Obama, left Intel after November’s U.S. elections.

The alternative can be liable for managing Intel’s relationships with governments within the U.S. and overseas at a time when President Donald Trump has put steep tariffs on China, the place Tan’s enterprise capital fund has intensive investments.

In latest years, Intel’s government workforce had included many enterprise unit leaders, with technical leaders typically layers beneath the CEO. Tan’s memo mentioned three longtime technical executives – Rob Bruckner, Mike Hurley and Lisa Pearce – will now report back to Tan.

“This supports our emphasis on becoming an engineering-focused company and will give me visibility into what’s needed to compete and win,” Tan wrote.

The memo follows Tan’s public feedback that he aimed to trim layers of administration from the corporate in order that government management would work extra carefully with its engineers.

“It’s clear to me that organizational complexity and bureaucratic processes have been slowly suffocating the culture of innovation we need to win,” Tan mentioned within the memo. “It takes too long to make decisions. New ideas are not given room or resources to incubate. And unnecessary silos lead to inefficient execution.”

© Thomson Reuters 2025