Intel Appoints New Board Members

By Arsheeya Bajwa

(Reuters) – Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) on Thursday named two chip industry veterans to its board as the struggling semiconductor firm looks for a new top boss following the recent ouster of Pat Gelsinger in an attempt to reclaim its lost glory.

The chipmaker announced that Eric Meurice, former CEO of chipmaking equipment provider ASML (AS:ASML), and Steve Sanghi, interim CEO of Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP), are the new additions to its board. Both Meurice and Sanghi have previously worked at Intel.

Intel has struggled to keep up with advanced chipmaking, falling well behind rivals such as Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) in designing chips that power AI and TSMC in making smaller and more efficient semiconductors.

Gelsinger's removal as CEO was announced on Monday. He was tasked with restoring Intel's lead in chipmaking, but his costly bet on contract manufacturing has seen the company shrink to a market value more than 30 times smaller than Nvidia.

Intel has started evaluating a handful of outsiders, including former board member Lip-Bu Tan, for the CEO role, according to a report on Tuesday.

The company's next CEO will need manufacturing expertise alongside experience in the product side of the business, interim co-CEO and CFO David Zinsner stated earlier this week.

Meurice led ASML from 2004 to 2013 and previously held roles at Thomson S.A, Dell (NYSE:DELL), and ITT (NYSE:ITT) Semiconductors. He worked at Intel from 1984 to 1989.

ASML's extreme ultraviolet lithography tools are crucial for making smaller, faster chips. Intel's delay in adopting these tools has left it years behind Taiwanese rival TSMC.

Sanghi chairs Microchip's board and was its CEO from 1991 to 2021. He returned as interim chief executive in November as the chipmaker grappled with a slowdown in demand from automotive customers. He worked at Intel from 1978 to 1988, according to his LinkedIn page.