At a time when Intel's situation remains complicated, one of the group's former CEOs is speaking out... and he's not mincing his words!
Intel has been piling up bad news over the past year, reporting its worst ever financial results in the second and third quarters. Although things improved somewhat towards the end of the year, it wasn't enough to prevent Pat Gelsinger's career from coming to an abrupt end. Pat Gelsinger, a former Intel engineer who will be appointed CEO in 2021, was the driving force behind Intel's new offensive strategy: his ambition was to get the company's production division, Intel Foundry, back on track. The Board of Directors didn't give him the time he needed.
Craig Barrett © Intel
Today, however, a former CEO has come to Pat Gelsinger's defense. Craig Barrett also climbed the corporate ladder, holding the "top" position from 1997 to 2005. First and foremost, Craig Barrett criticizes the people who occupied his post after him and before Pat Gelsinger. While he praises their " good intentions ", he also believes they were merely " academics and bureaucrats who were unfamiliar with the complex workings of running a semiconductor company ". Not sure that's a compliment.
More importantly, Craig Barrett believes that Pat Gelsinger has done a good job, and that Intel now has a strong case with the arrival of the 18A etch node. According to Craig Barrett, thanks to 18A, Intel would be able to offer " good customer service, fair pricing, guaranteed capacity and a clear separation of chip designers from their foundry customers " all this, of course, in addition to cutting-edge technology capable of competing with TSMC. Naturally, when it comes to talking about Pat Gelsinger - and especially his dismissal - Craig Barrett doesn't mince his words: " In my opinion, a much better decision would be to dismiss the Intel board and rehire Pat Gelsinger to finish the job he has done so well over the last few years ". Would you be so kind?
