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A chip off the old block isn’t necessarily what you need.
After disappointing results over the last year, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger stepped down from his position at the top of the company, effective Dec. 1, after being removed by the company’s board.
It was a sudden decision—but, paradoxically, one that had been a long time coming. Gelsinger presided over a loss of 52% of stock value over the last year, a decline based primarily on the company’s inability to match the demand for AI chips that Nvidia embraced to its benefit.
“It has been a challenging year for all of us as we have made tough but necessary decisions to position Intel for the current market dynamics,” Gelsinger said in a statement accompanying the press release announcing his “bittersweet” departure.
In August, after a devastating earnings report, Intel cut 15% of its workforce in a cost-cutting measure. As IT Brew reported, a series of mistakes and poor planning decisions led the company to report a $1.61 billion loss year over year in the second quarter after $1.48 billion in net income in Q2 2023.
Up up and away. Despite those setbacks, Gelsinger’s recent tenure wasn’t all disappointment. Intel did look at other options for resolving its fractured computing business, joining with rival AMD and other tech giants like Dell, Google, and Meta in October to form the x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group to promote the instruction set architecture. “We are on the cusp of one of the most significant shifts in the x86 architecture and ecosystem in decades,” Gelsinger said at the time.
And in November, Intel finalized a $7.86 billion grant from the Commerce Department through the CHIPS Act. That wasn’t enough to change things for the company’s overall prospects, nor was it sufficient to keep Gelsinger in the corner office.
While the Intel board looks for a replacement, Gelsinger’s duties will be performed by two interim co-CEOs, company CFO David Zinsner and Intel Products CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus.