Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Retires, Zinsner and Holthaus Named Interim Co-CEOs

Intel has announced that CEO Pat Gelsinger will step down from his role and from the company’s board of directors on December 1, 2024.

New Leadership for Intel

In his place, executives David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus will serve as interim co-CEOs. Zinsner, Intel’s CFO, and Holthaus, General Manager of the Client Computing Group, was recently appointed head of Intel Products—an umbrella business unit covering the company’s client computing, data center, AI, and networking divisions.

Fran Yeary, Intel’s independent chairman of the board, will take on the role of executive chairman during this transition. Meanwhile, the Intel Foundry management structure will remain unchanged. A search for a permanent CEO is underway, with the board tasked with evaluating candidates for this key leadership position.

A Long-Standing Legacy

This marks the end of an era for Intel, as Gelsinger has been a central figure in the company since 2001, when he became CTO. He left in 2009 to become CEO of VMware but returned to Intel in 2021 to take on the role of CEO again.

Gelsinger said,

Leading Intel has been the honor of my lifetime – this group of people is among the best and the brightest in the business, and I’m honored to call each and every one a colleague. Today is, of course, bittersweet as this company has been my life for the bulk of my working career. I can look back with pride at all that we have accomplished together. 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. I am forever grateful for the many colleagues around the world who I have worked with as part of the Intel family.

Pat Gelsinger’s Impact on Intel and the Tech Industry

Intel’s independent chairman Frank Yeary also expressed his gratitude for Gelsinger’s leadership, noting,

Pat spent his formative years at Intel, then returned at a critical time for the company in 2021. As a leader, Pat helped launch and revitalize process manufacturing by investing in state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing, while working tirelessly to drive innovation throughout the company.

Zinsner, who joined Intel in January 2022 from Micron Technology, brings over 25 years of financial and operational experience in the semiconductor industry. Holthaus, a 30-year Intel veteran, has held leadership roles across the company, including as executive vice president and general manager of the Client Computing Group, and she was recently named CEO of Intel Products.

“We are grateful for Pat’s commitment to Intel over these many years as well as his leadership,” said Zinsner and Holthaus. “We will redouble our commitment to Intel Products and meeting customer needs.”