News: 0179114436

  ARM Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

Intel Ousts CEO of Products, Ending 30-Year Career (tomshardware.com)

(Tuesday September 09, 2025 @11:30PM (BeauHD) from the major-shake-ups dept.)


An anonymous reader quotes a report from Tom's Hardware:

> Intel has [1]removed its chief executive officer of products , Michelle Johnston Holthaus, as part of a major shake-up of the executive branch of the embattled chip firm, according to [2]Reuters . This is part of new CEO Lip-Bu Tan's plan to [3]reshape the company under his leadership, flattening the leadership structure so he makes more of the important decisions about day-to-day operation. [...] Holthaus is the latest high-profile figure at Intel to get the axe, ending a 30-year career at Intel, but a mere 10 months in her CEO of products role, and a temporary position as co-CEO after the previous CEO, Pat Gelsinger, suddenly left in 2024. "Throughout her incredible career, Michelle has transformed major businesses, built high-performing teams and worked to delight our customers," Tan said in a statement. "She has made a lasting impact on our company and inspired so many of us with her leadership. We are grateful for all Michelle has given Intel and wish her the best."

>

> Intel has said Holthaus will remain with the company in an advisory role, but her position will not be filled by anyone else. What Intel is doing, though, is bringing in executives from elsewhere, including one who worked at Tan's previous endeavour, Cadence. Srinivasan Iyengar joined the company in June and will take on the role of head of a new central engineering division. This group will focus on developing a new custom silicon business for external customers. Although Intel's fabrication business has been one of its worst-performing in recent years, and there are still talks of it selling large portions of it, it's found a new lease of life following U.S. government investment and Bu Tan's leadership. With Iyengar's new role, though, it's possible we'll see Intel designing chips for customers, rather than merely producing them. That could see it compete against the likes of Broadcom and Marvell. With Tan pushing for a faster, leaner business overall, Iyengar will report directly to him in his new role. Intel also announced that it had acquired the services of former executive vice president of solutions engineering at Arm, Kevork Kechichian. He'll begin heading Intel's datacenter group, and brings years of experience at ARM, NXP Semiconductor, and Qualcomm.



[1] https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/intel-ousts-ceo-of-products-as-part-of-the-latest-executive-shake-up-ending-30-year-career-company-also-establishes-new-custom-chip-design-unit

[2] https://www.reuters.com/technology/intel-announces-key-executive-shake-up-says-products-chief-holthaus-will-exit-2025-09-08/

[3] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/07/02/2149214/intels-new-ceo-explores-big-shift-in-chip-manufacturing-business



$1 bet (Score:2)

by evil_aaronm ( 671521 )

A dollar says Tan got a phone call from an address in DC that said, "Ditch the woman."

Re: (Score:3)

by Charlotte ( 16886 )

Stop replying to yourself.

Re: (Score:1)

by Tablizer ( 95088 )

[1]There is reason to suspect such. [bbc.com]

[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39375228

He was given a choice (cryptic phone call) (Score:2)

by Provocateur ( 133110 )

Bu Tan?

No, boot Holthaus.

No worries, I'll see myself out.

WTF is a CEO of products? (Score:2)

by anoncoward69 ( 6496862 )

Companies have multiple CEOs now? I thought someone heading a department would be a VP or EVP? I guess we come up with fake job titles to demand more money.

Reminder (Score:2)

by blackomegax ( 807080 )

The product lead of intel is the person that directed them to drop the i9/i7/i5 branding that had *enormous* mindshare after a decade in favor of some bullshit like "ultra 7 AI max" or whatever. nobody outside of the marketing department actually knows what “Core Ultra” even means. It sounds less like a processor line and more like a knockoff protein powder you’d find at a discount store. AMD has been eating their lunch with clear naming and real generational performance gains, while Intel

AMD Wins (Score:2)

by JThundley ( 631154 )

AMD Wins! Intel can't have any products without a CEO of products!

Pat's next move? (Score:2)

by CambodiaSam ( 1153015 )

Anyone know where Pat Gelsinger is going next? Looking to avoid the next mushroom cloud.

At work, the authority of a person is inversely proportional to the
number of pens that person is carrying.