Intel Announces Leadership Changes as Former Co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus Departs

Intel announced that former co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus will depart after 30 years. The chip company is boosting its core product business with new leadership appointments. Naga Chandrasekaran will lead Intel Foundry Services, while Kevork Kechichian will lead the data center business. Jim Johnson will head the client computing group, and Srinivasan Iyengar will lead a new central engineering group. The appointments aim to support Intel's strategy to strengthen its core product business and foster a culture of engineering.

Title: Intel Appoints New Leadership to Boost Core Product Business

Intel Corp., the semiconductor giant, has announced a series of key leadership appointments aimed at bolstering its core product business and fostering a culture of engineering across the company. The changes come as Intel seeks to regain its dominance in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the rapidly growing data center and artificial intelligence (AI) markets.

Former co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus is stepping down after over three decades with the company. She will remain a strategic advisor over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition. Holthaus' departure follows a period of leadership changes at Intel, including the appointment of current CEO Lip-Bu Tan in March.

The company has appointed Kevork Kechichian as executive vice president and general manager of the Data Center Group (DCG). Kechichian brings extensive industry experience, having previously served as executive vice president of engineering at Arm Holdings Plc. He will lead Intel’s data center business across cloud and enterprise, including the Intel Xeon processor family.

Jim Johnson, a 40-year Intel veteran, has been appointed senior vice president and general manager of the Client Computing Group (CCG). Johnson will lead Intel’s efforts to deliver innovative computing solutions and foster growth across the global PC and edge ecosystems.

Intel is also establishing a new Central Engineering Group led by Srinivasan Iyengar, a senior vice president and Fellow. Iyengar will lead horizontal engineering functions and build a new custom silicon business to serve a broad range of external customers.

Additionally, Naga Chandrasekaran, executive vice president and chief technology and operations officer of Intel Foundry, will expand his role to include Foundry Services. This move aims to create a more integrated structure spanning technology development, manufacturing, and go-to-market functions.

These appointments reflect Intel's strategy to strengthen its core product business and foster a culture of engineering. CEO Lip-Bu Tan emphasized that the new leaders bring a powerful combination of strategic vision, technical depth, and operational rigor, which will be instrumental in driving growth across the data center market and beyond.

References:
1. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-08/intel-s-tan-appoints-new-leaders-for-data-center-pc-chip-groups](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-08/intel-s-tan-appoints-new-leaders-for-data-center-pc-chip-groups)
2. [https://www.marketscreener.com/news/intel-names-kechichian-to-lead-data-center-group-ce7d59dfd988f123](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/intel-names-kechichian-to-lead-data-center-group-ce7d59dfd988f123)
3. [https://www.intc.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1749/intel-announces-key-leadership-appointments-to-accelerate](https://www.intc.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1749/intel-announces-key-leadership-appointments-to-accelerate)