CEO Shakes Up Intel With New CTO and AI Head

The recently appointed CEO of Intel, Lip-Bu Tan, has initiated a significant restructuring of leadership with the objective of enhancing the efficiency of decision-making within the corporation, as reported. Reuters With the recent updates, Sachin Katti is set to assume the role of Chief Executive Officer at Intel and will spearhead the company’s artificial intelligence initiatives. Additionally, the organizational hierarchy will be streamlined, granting technical leads from crucial departments direct access to the CEO.

"A representative from Intel verified that Sachin Katti is broadening his responsibilities to encompass the roles of chief technology and AI officer at the company," they stated. Tom's Hardware In this role, he will oversee our comprehensive AI strategy and the AI product roadmap, along with managing Intel Labs and our interactions within the startup and developer communities.

New CTO

Until recently, Sachin Katti led Intel’s networking and edge computing division and before that served as the CTO of that same division. With this expanded responsibility, he will take on the role of Chief Technology Officer across the entire organization and also helm Intel Labs, overseeing all foundational and applied research activities at Intel, including essential work on the company's processing technologies.

In his role as the leader of Intel Labs, Katti will oversee relations with startup and developer ecosystems. Additionally, he will be responsible for shaping Intel’s new artificial intelligence strategy and defining the product roadmap.

Appointing an exclusive AI leader might have been necessary since Intel’s AI approach hasn’t quite hit the mark yet. The issue may lie in how AI was integrated into Intel's data center division and treated almost like a lesser priority, leading to competition over resources and managerial focus. A designated head could alter this dynamic; however, remember that Sachin Katti won't focus exclusively on AI because he'll also serve as Intel's Chief Technology Officer overseeing edge computing and networking operations.

The primary responsibility of Intel’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) initially centered around overseeing conventional technological advancements. However, over the past few years, this position has taken on extra duties. The traditional CTO positions at Intel have been held sequentially by Pat Gelsinger from 2001 to 2009, followed by Justin Rattner from 2009 until 2013, and then Michael Mayberry starting in 2017 through 2021. These individuals spearheaded the firm's tech strategies encompassing CPUs, system designs, communication methods, as well as processes involved in semiconductor fabrication. Notably, Intel did not appoint anyone to fill the CTO role during the interim period stretching from 2013 to 2017.

Greg Lavender, who acted as Intel's Chief Technology Officer from 2021 through 2025, began his tenure at the firm in 2021 after leaving VMware. His duties as CTO included shaping and implementing Intel’s software approach for areas such as artificial intelligence, advanced computing, and secure computing. Additionally, he was responsible for overseeing the operations of Intel Labs, Intel Federal LLC, and Intel Information Technology (IT).

As mentioned, Katti won’t be the inaugural Intel CTO to handle extra duties. Nonetheless, her dual role as CTO and AI lead carries significant strategic importance for the firm’s upcoming ventures, which could indicate a calculated strategy implemented by Lip-Bu Tan.

Tech leaders now have a direct connection to the CEO.

Although the significance of the Intel CTO position within Intel seems to have diminished — as seen through the extensive duties undertaken by Sachin Katti — Lip-Bu Tan is adopting a more active involvement in the advancement of crucial technologies. He has also set up clear channels of communication directly with important tech leaders such as Rob Bruckner, Mike Hurley, and Lisa Pearce.

Allow us to outline their responsibilities:

Rob Bruckner acts as the Chief Technology Officer for the Client Platform Architecture and Definition (CPAD) division within theClient Computing Group (CCG), which generates tens of billions of dollars annually.
Mike Hurley acts as the head of the client silicon engineering team (CSEG), managing the full lifecycle execution for every client product. Key duties encompass silicon architecture and design engineering, along with the development of hardware and firmware IPs. Additionally, he ensures effective post-silicon verification and preparation for manufacturing to facilitate the smooth rollout of products into the marketplace.
Lisa Pearce serves as the general manager for GPU and NPU hardware and software intellectual property at Intel. Although this isn’t a core business segment, the development and integration of GPU and NPU hardware hold significant strategic importance for the company’s CPU lineup, both integrated and discrete GPUs, along with expanding their overall artificial intelligence initiatives.

Earlier, these executives were under the supervision of Michelle Johnston Holthaus, who was the CEO of the Intel Products Group managing products ranging from control chips for consumer PCs to high-end datacenter processors and servers. However, Michelle Johnston Holthaus will remain in her position.

Tan reportedly wrote for Reuters, “I intend to get deeply involved with the engineering and product teams to understand what’s necessary to reinforce our offerings.” He further stated, “Michelle and I will lead this effort, aiming to refine and broaden her responsibilities, with additional specifics to be shared later.”

Furthermore, Intel is modifying the working relationship between the CEO and the government affairs leader: the updated structure has the latter reporting directly to Lip-Bu Tan. This shift underscores the increasing significance of international regulatory connections due to escalating geopolitical pressures and continuing tariffs imposed on China. After the U.S. elections in November, Bruce Andrews—who formerly served at the U.S. Commerce Department during President Obama’s term—departed from Intel.

Summary

Overall, Lip-Bu Tan has taken charge of nearly all key initiatives at Intel, encompassing both product development and production processes. Nonetheless, the financial responsibilities remain under the purview of Dave Zinsner, who serves as the company’s CFO.

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