On Monday, December 2nd, Eastern Time, $Intel (INTC.US)$it was announced that chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger retired on December 1st and has resigned from the board of directors.

Gelsinger began his career at Intel in 1979 and has been there for more than 40 years. He took on the role of CEO on February 15, 2021. During his nearly four years in office, Intel developed ambitious plans, but its market position continued to decline.

Financial reports show that Intel's revenue in 2021 was $74.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2%. However, revenue dropped to $57 billion in 2022, and $47.7 billion in 2023. In November 2024, Intel reported a quarterly loss of $16.6 billion, marking the largest loss in the company's history. Analysts pointed out that the losses were due to Gelsinger's bold transformation strategy failing to achieve results.

After the announcement, Intel's stock price rose nearly 6% in early trading on Monday, ultimately closing down 0.5%, but still down about 52% year-to-date.

Gelsinger was forced to step down.

The 63-year-old Gelsinger is hailed as the "savior" of this chip giant; he expressed his love for the company and his determination to help intel revive its foundry business and regain its position as the leader in chip manufacturing. Industry analysts are hopeful about Gelsinger's return, as he was once an engineer at intel and the company's first chief technology officer in its history.

However, Gelsinger faces some structural problems that are too large to overcome quickly. Even with strong government support and Gelsinger's ambitious expansion plans, intel still struggles to shake off the competitive pressure from nvidia and AMD.

Gelsinger has also greatly promoted intel's relationship with the usa government, successfully obtaining a contract to produce secure chips for the Department of Defense. But as intel's spending becomes increasingly aggressive, investor enthusiasm begins to fade. The ai revolution has propelled the growth of other semiconductor companies, while intel's efforts to secure a share of the ai market have not been fruitful, leading to more skepticism from investors, and this year the company's market cap has lost nearly 50%.

According to Bloomberg, Gelsinger was forced to resign after the board of directors lost confidence in his plan to turn intel's fortunes around, bringing further turmoil to the company.

Sources say this conflict reached a peak last week when Gelsinger discussed with the board of directors the company's progress in regaining market share and narrowing the gap with nvidia. The board gave him a choice: either retire or be dismissed, and Gelsinger chose to announce the end of his career at intel.

Changes in intel's leadership

Currently, intel has made changes to its management team, appointing two senior leaders, David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, as interim co-CEOs, while the board of directors is searching for a new chief executive officer. Independent board chairman Frank Yeary will serve as interim executive chairman during the transition.

Additionally, Zinsner serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer, while Holthaus has been appointed to the newly established position of "intel products chief executive officer," responsible for the intel products division, which includes the company's Client Computing Group (CCG), Datacenter and ai Group (DCAI), and Network and Edge Group (NEX). The leadership structure of intel's foundry remains unchanged.

Zinsner and Holthaus stated:

We appreciate Pat's dedication to intel and his leadership over the years. We will double our commitment to intel products and meeting customer needs. As we continue to enhance our product and process leadership, we will focus on driving returns on our foundry investments.

Zinsner has over 25 years of financial and operation experience in the semiconductors, manufacturing, and technology industries. He joined intel in January 2022 from micron technology, serving as executive vice president and chief financial officer. In the early stages of his career, Zinsner held various other leadership positions, including president and chief operating officer of Affirmed Networks and senior vice president and chief financial officer of ADI.

Holthaus is an experienced general manager and leader who began her career at intel nearly thirty years ago. Prior to being appointed as the CEO of intel products, she served as executive vice president and general manager of CCG. Holthaus has held various management and leadership positions at intel, including chief revenue officer and general manager of the sales and marketing group, as well as global head of CCG sales.

Editor/Somer