What you need to know
- Pat Gelsinger will take over as the CEO of Intel.
- Gelsinger worked at Intel for 30 years and was a driving force behind USB and Wi-Fi.
- The current CEO, Bob Swan, will remain in his role until February 15.
Intel announced that Pat Gelsinger will replace Bob Swan as the company's CEO. Gelsinger will also join the Intel board of directors when he takes over as CEO. Gelsinger has been in the technology industry for 40 years, including serving as the CEO of VMware since 2012 and working at Intel for 30 years at the beginning of his career. Swan will remain CEO until February 15, at which time Gelsinger will take over.
Gelsinger coming to Intel is a coming home experience. He joined Intel when he was only 18 years old and spent the first three decades of his career there. Gelsinger was the company's first chief technology officer. He was a driving force behind the creation of several key technologies in the industry, including USB and Wi-Fi. He is also the architect of the first 80486 processor, was in key roles working with Intel Core and Xeon, and led 14 different microprocessor programs.
Gelsinger shared a post with his thoughts on his return to Intel:
My experience at Intel has shaped my entire career, and I am forever grateful to this company. To come back "home" to Intel in the role of CEO during what is such a critical time for innovation, as we see the digitization of everything accelerating, will be the greatest honor of my career.
Intel's post announcing the news emphasizes that the move from Swan to Gelsinger is not related to Intel's 2020 financial performance. In fact, Intel states that it expects its Q4 2020 revenue and EPS to exceed expectations.
