Intel Shakes Up Leadership of Its Push Into Chip Foundry Market

Patrick Gelsinger, chief executive officer of Intel Corp., holds an Intel Gaudi3 AI accelerator as he speaks during the Intel AI Everywhere launch event in New York, US, on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. Intel Corp. announced new chips for PCs and data centers that the company hopes will give it a bigger slice of the booming market for artificial intelligence hardware.

(Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp. announced another leadership change for the chipmaker’s contract manufacturing efforts, making Marvell Technology Inc. executive Kevin O’Buckley head of its foundry division.

O’Buckley was named senior vice president and general manager of foundry services, the unit tasked with manufacturing chips for outside clients. He succeeds longtime Intel executive Stu Pann, who is retiring, and will report directly to Chief Executive Office Pat Gelsinger as a member of the executive leadership team, the company said Monday in a statement.

An International Business Machines Corp. veteran who spent the past five years at Marvell, O’Buckley is stepping into one of the highest pressure jobs in the semiconductor industry. As part of Gelsinger’s ambitious turnaround plan, Intel is moving into a foundry businesses dominated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. It needs to attract large customers for the project, especially as Intel tries to justify the construction of new factories in the US and Europe.

Pann is leaving Intel after just over a year in the role. The company said he successfully launched the new business structure for the Intel Foundry division, but the endeavor remains in its early stages. When Intel recently began reporting more financial information about the business — including shrinking sales and mounting losses — investors sent the shares tumbling.

In addition to moving into the foundry industry, Intel also is racing to upgrade its technology. After decades of supremacy, the company has fallen behind TSMC and other rivals in its manufacturing capabilities. Gelsinger’s plan is to improve its production know-how while also making chips for erstwhile rivals.

Intel Foundry had sales of $18.9 billion in 2023, down from $27.5 billion the previous year. The unit had revenue of $4.4 billion in the first quarter of 2024.

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