The semiconductor industry and Intel people are buzzing with Intel's announcement that Lip-Bu Tan will become CEO, succeeding Pat Gelsinger. Intel has long sought to regain its leadership in manufacturing and performance—a position it once held firmly but has been overtaken by competitors like TSMC, AMD, and NVIDIA. When Gelsinger returned to Intel in 2021, he was expected to bring engineering expertise and a commitment to restoring Intel's cutting-edge status. Despite his efforts, the company often struggled to match the rapid innovation and process execution of its rivals. The question is whether Lip-Bu Tan’s leadership can prevail or perhaps the intent is to break up the company.
My view of Lip-Bu is based mainly on what I read online. He has a compelling mix of technical and operational skills that could be crucial for Intel. He also has a strong venture capital background with Walden International, and that is the part that has me a bit worried. A venture capitalist view of Intel could mean breaking apart the company, but in the same light could mean using his experience in scaling early-stage tech companies to aid Intel in exploring new approaches to research, product development, and strategic investments. I hope it is the ladder.
What stood out to me was Lip-Bu's callout to customers. If true, that is excellent news. Intel has sometimes behaved like an indispensable diva, which enabled many competitors to surpass my former company. This was very sad for me because this was the very reason I was pushing for more customer-centric approaches at Intel, and after a decade of progress, I was shot down by a leadership change. But, I digress.
To turn the company around as an intact company, he must address a decade of issues that have weakened the company's talent. Let's be honest here, Intel has seeded an enormous amount of its competition by the very engineers it laid off in 2016. So to turn the ship, you need to build the best crew and rehabilitate the company. This will not be overnight; it will need to instill the mindset that the company is not #1 anymore. You are third at best, wanting to be #1, and they need to start acting as that. Can Lip-Bu Tan do that? I hope so.
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