Intel announced leadership changes aimed at strengthening its product lines, foundry business, and engineering culture. Kevork Kechichian, formerly at Arm, takes over the Data Center Group (DCG), where he will oversee Intel’s Xeon processor family and cloud infrastructure business. Jim Johnson, a 40-year Intel veteran, has been confirmed as head of the Client Computing Group (CCG), responsible for driving PC and edge growth. The company also created a new Central Engineering Group under Srini Iyengar, who will lead horizontal engineering and launch a custom silicon business for external customers.
On the foundry side, Intel expanded Naga Chandrasekaran’s role to include both technology development and Foundry Services, creating a more unified operating model across manufacturing and customer delivery. Kevin O’Buckley will continue as general manager of Foundry Services but will now report to Chandrasekaran. Meanwhile, Michelle Johnston Holthaus, Intel’s chief executive of Intel Products and a three-decade company veteran, will depart after a transition period. She previously held roles as interim co-CEO, CCG head, and chief revenue officer.
These changes come as Intel undergoes its most significant corporate reset in decades, following the U.S. government’s decision earlier this year to take a minority equity stake in the company as part of its semiconductor industrial policy. That move was designed to stabilize Intel’s foundry expansion and ensure U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing. With Lip-Bu Tan at the helm, Intel is now aligning its leadership to sharpen execution in data center, client, and foundry segments while building new growth paths in custom silicon.
- Kevork Kechichian joins Intel from Arm to lead Data Center Group
- Jim Johnson confirmed as head of Client Computing Group after interim role
- New Central Engineering Group formed under Srini Iyengar to focus on horizontal innovation and custom silicon
- Naga Chandrasekaran expands oversight of Intel Foundry to cover both technology and services
- Michelle Johnston Holthaus departs after 30+ years with Intel
“We are laser-focused on delivering world-class products and empowering our engineering teams to move faster and execute with excellence,” said Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel.
🌐 Analysis: Intel’s leadership overhaul reflects both urgency and opportunity. With the U.S. government now holding a strategic equity stake, Intel is under pressure to deliver on foundry commitments and regain competitiveness in data center and client markets. The appointments of Kechichian and Iyengar bring external expertise from Arm and Cadence, signaling a more outward-facing Intel, while Johnson provides continuity in the PC business. The consolidation of foundry leadership under Chandrasekaran underscores Intel’s push to meet customer expectations and scale capacity efficiently, as rival foundries TSMC and Samsung expand aggressively. These moves mark the early stages of Intel’s attempt to stabilize execution and reposition itself as a cornerstone of U.S. semiconductor strategy.
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