Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) announced several management changes on Monday, including the departure of its former co-CEO, as the Lip Bu-Tan-led company looks to boost growth.
Kevork Kechichian has joined Intel as executive vice president and general manager of the Data Center Group (DCG). Kechichian, who was previously at British chip design firm Arm (ARM), will be responsible for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel’s data center business across cloud and enterprise, including the Intel Xeon processor family. “Kevork brings a powerful combination of strategic vision, technical depth, and operational rigor that will help us seize growth opportunities across the data center market,” said Tan in a statement.
In its most recent quarter, Intel’s Data Center and AI group saw 4% year-over-year revenue growth to hit $3.9B, well below that of peers Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD).
Jim Johnson has been named the head of Intel’s largest division by revenue, its Client Computing Group. Johnson, who has been at Intel for 40 years, had previously held a variety of engineering and leadership roles across the company.
“Jim’s steady leadership and trusted relationships across the computing industry are driving continued progress in our client business as we prepare to launch a new generation of products,” Tan explained.
The Client Computing Group, which sells chips to PC makers, saw a 3% decline in revenue in its most recent quarter at $7.9B.
Also joining the Intel leadership ranks is Srini Iyengar, who will head up the newly formed Central Engineering Group. Iyengar, who comes to Intel from Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), will focus on leading horizontal engineering functions and building a new custom silicon business for external customers.
“With Srini leading Central Engineering, we’re aligning innovation and execution more tightly in service to customers,” Tan said.
Naga Chandrasekaran will expand his role in Intel’s foundry division and take on foundry services, Intel said in the statement. He was previously executive vice president and chief technology and operations officer of Intel Foundry.
“Naga’s strong leadership, combined with a more integrated foundry operating model, will help us enhance the quality of execution, collaboration and customer service across our foundry business,” Tan said.
Kechichian, Johnson, and Iyengar will report directly to Tan, Intel explained.
In conjunction with the executive changes, Intel said Michelle Johnston Holthaus, chief executive of Intel Products, will depart after more than three decades with the company. Prior to her departure, Holthaus had a number of leadership roles at Intel, including being named interim co-CEO after the 2024 departure of Pat Gelsinger.