Intel has officially announced the “retirement” of its CEO, Pat Gelsinger. This retirement seems more like a dismissal after several difficult years, particularly in 2024. It seems that changing CEO is no longer enough to meet the company’s current challenges. We wish the next elected official good luck.
Intel: we hit rock bottom
Intel has announcement the separation from its CEO, Pat Gelsinger, after a career of more than 40 years. Appointed CEO in 2021, Pat Gelsinger’s mission was to turn Intel around after the failures of the two previous CEOs, Brian Krzanich (2013-2018) and Bob Swan (2019-2021). However, the challenge proved too great given Intel’s immense technological delay accumulated over nearly 10 years.
The decision to replace Pat Gelsinger as Intel’s CEO reflects the major challenges the company faces, particularly in the face of the rise of Apple Silicon and Nvidia. Although Apple is not directly responsible for Intel’s decline, its transition to its own chips helped revitalize the Mac and strengthen its position, thus exacerbating Intel’s difficulties. A choice which, with four years of hindsight, appears all the more remarkable.
On the Intel side, the situation is very different. Although the company claims that its Lunar Lake chips have the fastest integrated GPU in the industry, the reality is more nuanced. Intel continues to lose market share due to unresolved technological delays in recent years. This is also reflected in the fall of its share price, which has fallen by 41.85% in one year and by 57% over the last five years. A situation which pushed the board of directors to consider drastic measures. Rumors of a possible takeover by Qualcomm show that changing CEO is no longer enough to turn things around.
The company is therefore carrying out a complete overhaul. David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus have been named interim CEOs, with Holthaus also in charge of the new role of CEO of Intel Products. Frank Yeary becomes interim executive chairman. The company is continuing its strategy to strengthen its manufacturing competitiveness and meet customer expectations. The board of directors is looking for a permanent successor while focusing on efficiency and profitability.
