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Intel Corporation

Semiconductors and foundry manufacturingFounded 1968
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Leadership History

Intel: CEO History

9 leaders · 1968 to present

Who is the CEO of Intel?

Lip-Bu Tan is the CEO of Intel, in the role since 2025. The first chief executive was Robert Noyce, from 1968.

Current CEO
Lip-Bu Tan (since 2025)
First CEO
Robert Noyce (1968)
Leaders documented
9
Founded
1968
NameRoleFromToYears in role
Lip-Bu TanChief Executive Officer2025Present1
Pat GelsingerCEO202120243
Bob SwanChief Executive Officer201820213
Brian KrzanichChief Executive Officer201320185
Paul S. OtelliniPresident and Chief Executive Officer200520138
Craig R. BarrettChief Executive Officer199820057
Andy GroveCEO1987199811
Gordon MooreChief Executive Officer1975198712
Robert NoyceChief Executive Officer196819757
Who was CEO of Intel before Lip-Bu Tan?
Pat Gelsinger was CEO of Intel from 2021 to 2024, before Lip-Bu Tan took over in 2025.

Company Overview

Intel was founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore and became the defining PC chip company through the x86 architecture, the 'Intel Inside' brand, and its partnership with Microsoft. It missed the smartphone shift, suffered years of 10nm and 7nm delays, and lost Apple's Mac business to Apple silicon in 2020. Pat Gelsinger's IDM 2.0 plan (2021-2024) rebuilt the process roadmap at high cost. Lip-Bu Tan, CEO since March 2025, has focused on cost cuts, customer focus, and new capital from the U.S. government, Nvidia, and SoftBank. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The incredibly dominant pioneer of the microchip industry was founded in California in 1968, completely defining the Silicon Valley era by inventing the x86 processor architecture that powered the personal computer revolution.

Lip-Bu Tan

Chief Executive Officer

2025 – Present

1 year (current)

Key Decisions & Impact

Became CEO in March 2025 after leading Cadence Design Systems (CEO 2009-2021). Cut management layers and headcount, slowed the Ohio fab, sold 51% of Altera to Silver Lake, and secured equity investments from SoftBank ($2B), the U.S. government ($8.9B), and Nvidia ($5B) in 2025.

Legacy

Tan reframed Intel around customer commitments and cost discipline rather than building capacity ahead of demand. By Q2 2026 Intel had beaten guidance for several straight quarters and posted its fastest revenue growth in more than 15 years.

Source →

Pat Gelsinger

CEO

2021 – 2024

3 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Returned to Intel as CEO in February 2021 and launched IDM 2.0, which opened Intel's fabs to outside customers, set the 'five nodes in four years' roadmap, and committed to new fabs in Arizona, Ohio, Germany, and Poland, backed by CHIPS Act support.

Legacy

Gelsinger rebuilt Intel's process roadmap toward 18A, but capital spending outpaced revenue. After a $18.8B net loss in 2024 and a dividend suspension, the board pushed him out in December 2024.

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Bob Swan

Chief Executive Officer

2018 – 2021

3 years

Legacy

Bob Swan served as chief executive of Intel Corporation from 2018 to 2021.

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Brian Krzanich

Chief Executive Officer

2013 – 2018

5 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Krzanich became chief executive in May 2013 and bought Altera in 2015 and Mobileye in 2017.

Legacy

Intel fell behind schedule on its 10-nanometre process during his term. He resigned in June 2018.

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Paul S. Otellini

President and Chief Executive Officer

2005 – 2013

8 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Otellini became chief executive in 2005 and won Apple as a customer for Mac processors.

Legacy

Intel revenue grew from about $34 billion to $53 billion, though the company missed the smartphone market. Brian Krzanich succeeded him in 2013.

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Craig R. Barrett

Chief Executive Officer

1998 – 2005

7 years

Legacy

Craig R. Barrett served as chief executive of Intel Corporation from 1998 to 2005.

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Andy Grove

CEO

1987 – 1998

11 years

Key Decisions & Impact

As president, drove the 1985 exit from DRAM memory to focus on microprocessors. As CEO from 1987 to 1998, backed the 386, 486, and Pentium lines and the 'Intel Inside' campaign launched in 1991.

Legacy

Grove turned Intel into the dominant PC processor supplier; revenue grew from about $1.9B in 1987 to over $26B in 1998. His book 'Only the Paranoid Survive' became a management classic.

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Gordon Moore

Chief Executive Officer

1975 – 1987

12 years

Legacy

Gordon Moore served as chief executive of Intel Corporation from 1975 to 1987.

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Robert Noyce

Chief Executive Officer

1968 – 1975

7 years

Legacy

Robert Noyce served as chief executive of Intel Corporation from 1968 to 1975.

Source →

Challenges & Strategic Context

Intel Foundry still loses billions per quarter (about $2.1 billion in Q2 2026), and the company needs outside customers to fill its fabs. It faces AMD in PC and server CPUs, Nvidia and custom ASICs in AI acceleration, Arm-based designs from Apple and Qualcomm in PCs, and TSMC in manufacturing. Supply constraints, heavy capital spending, and GAAP volatility from the CHIPS Act escrowed-share accounting add risk.

Intel CEO and Leadership FAQ

Who is Pat Gelsinger and what was his mission as CEO of Intel from 2021 to 2024?

Pat Gelsinger served as CEO of Intel from February 2021 to December 2024. An engineering protégé of Andy Grove who joined Intel at age 18 and served as its first CTO (and later CEO of VMware), Gelsinger returned to launch the IDM 2.0 strategy, secure the CHIPS Act, build the Ohio mega-fab, and drive the 5-nodes-in-4-years manufacturing sprint.

Who were Bob Swan and Brian Krzanich during Intel's transitional era?

Brian Krzanich (CEO 2013 to 2018) diversified Intel into IoT and autonomous driving (Mobileye acquisition) but oversaw severe 10nm manufacturing delays. Bob Swan (former CFO, CEO 2019 to 2021) managed record financial revenues and divested the smartphone modem business to Apple before stepping down.

Who was Paul Otellini and what were his achievements as CEO from 2005 to 2013?

Paul Otellini was Intel's first non-engineer CEO, leading the well-known transition to the Core microarchitecture, winning the landmark contract to power Apple Macs in 2005, and growing annual revenues from $38B to over $53B.

Who was Craig Barrett and what was his impact as CEO from 1998 to 2005?

Dr. Craig Barrett served as CEO during the dot-com boom, investing billions during economic downturns under the 'Copy Exactly!' manufacturing discipline, expanding global 300mm wafer fabs, and launching the Centrino mobile platform.

Who was Andy Grove and what was his well-known leadership legacy at Intel?

Dr. Andrew S. Grove was Intel's 3rd employee, President (1979), and CEO (1987 to 1998). Named Time's Man of the Year in 1997 and author of 'Only the Paranoid Survive,' Grove engineered the historic pivot from memory chips to microprocessors, coined the 'Intel Inside' campaign, and built Intel into the world's #1 tech leader.

Who was Gordon Moore and what was his role as CEO and author of 'Moore's Law'?

Dr. Gordon Moore served as CEO (1975 to 1987) and Chairman. In 1965, he formulated 'Moore's Law', predicting that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles roughly every two years, which served as the guiding roadmap for the global digital revolution.

Who was Robert Noyce and why is he called the 'Mayor of Silicon Valley'?

Dr. Robert Noyce co-founded Intel in 1968 and co-invented the silicon Integrated Circuit (microchip). An inspiring visionary, Noyce created Silicon Valley's flat, meritocratic, non-hierarchical startup culture and served as Intel's founding CEO until 1975.

How is Intel's interim executive leadership structured?

Following Pat Gelsinger's retirement in December 2024, Intel's Board of Directors appointed CFO David Zinsner and CCG GM Michelle Johnston Holthaus as interim Co-CEOs, while Board Chair Frank Yeary oversaw the search for permanent leadership alongside semiconductor luminary Lip-Bu Tan.

Who is the CEO of Intel?

Pat Gelsinger serves as CEO. He is a highly respected, deeply technical engineer who actually designed the legendary 80486 processor. He returned to Intel in 2021 to save the company after a disastrous decade under non-engineers (like Brian Krzanich and Bob Swan), who prioritized Wall Street stock buybacks over critical manufacturing R&D.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.