Pat Gelsinger Appointed as New Intel CEO

Intel has named 40-year tech industry veteran Pat Gelsinger as its new chief executive officer and board member.  

Gelsinger’s appointment as CEO marks his return to Intel, where he began his career and became the chipmaker’s first chief technology officer, providing key contributions to the creation of the original 80486 processor and the Core and Xeon families, as well as key industry technologies such as USB and Wi-Fi.

He will transition into his new role after an eight-year stint as the CEO of software company VMware, which he helped position as a recognized global leader in cloud infrastructure, enterprise mobility and cybersecurity, Intel said. 

Previously, Gelsinger also served as the president and chief operating officer at Dell EMC. During his three-year stint at EMC, he was responsible for information storage, backup, governance and security and data analytics products, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In a statement, Omar Ishrak, independent chairman of the Intel board, said that Gelsinger will continue a values-based cultural leadership approach with a hyper focus on operational execution. He expressed confidence in Gelsinger’s ability to capitalize on significant opportunities ahead as Intel continues its transition to becoming a multi-architecture XPU company. 

Gelsinger will replace Bob Swan, who will remain in office until Feb. 15. Swan will wrap up a two-year stint as CEO, during which he initiated efforts to achieve the chipmaker’s goal of becoming a multi-architecture XPU company. 

The outgoing CEO supports Gelsinger’s appointment, saying that Intel has reached the right juncture to make a leadership change. Swan is confident that under Gelsinger’s leadership, Intel will maintain its position as one of the world’s top tech companies.