American Tech giant Intel has announced the resignation of its CEO, Pat Gelsinger, which took effect on 1st December. Reports suggest that this decision was not voluntary as some reports claim that Intel's board of directors lost confidence in Gelsinger's leadership. The board expressed dissatisfaction with the sluggish progress of Gelsinger's ambitious turnaround strategy to revive the struggling chipmaker and keep up with competitors like Nvidia and TSMC.
The decision came after a tense board meeting last week, where Gelsinger outlined Intel’s plans to regain market share and compete with rivals such as Nvidia. Sources cited in the report revealed that Gelsinger was given two choices: announce his retirement or face removal. He opted to retire, bringing his tenure at Intel to an end.
Intel faces significant challenges in the growing field of artificial intelligence (AI) computing, a market where Nvidia has established dominance. Once seen as a niche player. Nvidia has turned its graphics chips into indispensable tools for AI and data centers, earning its place as the world's most valuable publicly traded semiconductors company. In contrast, Intel's efforts to establish a foothold in this profitable sector have yet to achieve substantial progress.
Intel’s (INTC) stock plunged 61% during Gelsinger’s tenure. The stock rose 3% in early trading on Monday, before dipping more than 1% by midday.
The company announced in August that it would lay off 15% of its staff as part of an effort to slash $10 billion in costs and “fundamentally change the way we operate,” as Gelsinger said at the time.
Gelsinger took over as Intel's chief executive in February 2021, returning to the company at which he worked for decades, including as chief technology officer. He had left intel for a stint as CEO of software giant VMWare.In a statement, Pat Gelsinger shared his mixed feelings about stepping down. “Today is, of course, bittersweet as this company has been my life for the bulk of my working career,” he said. While acknowledging the difficulties of the past year, he defended the challenging decisions made to align the company with market demands.
“While we have made significant progress in regaining manufacturing competitiveness and building the capabilities to be a world-class foundry, we know that we have much more work to do at the company and are committed to restoring investor confidence,” board member Frank Yeary said.
