Intel Director Lip-Bu Tan Leaves Board of Ailing Chipmaker

(Bloomberg) — Intel Corp. director Lip-Bu Tan, a semiconductor industry veteran brought in two years ago to help with the chipmaker’s comeback effort, has stepped down from the board.

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Tan informed the board on Aug. 19 that he would be leaving, effective immediately, Intel said in a filing on Thursday, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News. The director, a former chief executive officer of Cadence Design Systems Inc. who also runs an investment firm, cited “demands on his time” for driving the move.

“This is a personal decision based on a need to reprioritize various commitments and I remain supportive of the company and its important work,” he said in the filing.

The move follows a disastrous quarterly report earlier this month, which sent Intel shares on their worst rout in decades. The once-dominant chipmaker gave a dour forecast, suspended its longstanding dividend and announced plans to slash more than 15% of its workers.

CEO Pat Gelsinger has been trying to restore Intel’s standing in the chip industry by pouring money into new factories and technologies, but rivals like Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. have only made further gains.

Tan was elected to the board in September 2022 and appointed to Intel’s mergers and acquisitions committee.

When Tan joined the board, he praised Gelsinger’s bold leadership and said the company was “undergoing a massive transformation to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead.”

More recently, Intel has been focused on making cutbacks. In addition to efforts to pare jobs and expenses, the chipmaker scrapped plans for its annual Innovation event. It also recently sold its stake in chip technology creator Arm Holdings Plc.

–With assistance from Debby Wu.

(Updates with Intel confirmation in second paragraph.)