Pat Gelsinger, Intel’s CEO, believes he knows when the chipmaker’s decline began: “I think one of the fundamental aspects is…”
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger states that the chipmaker’s decline began years before he returned to lead the company in 2021. During an interview on the ‘All-In’ podcast, recorded at the Raise Summit in Paris, Gelsinger said: “I think one of the fundamental aspects is that, if we look at today’s leading technology companies, we see that they possess a solid technical foundation.” Gelsinger maintained that Intel had strayed from technical leadership prior to his return, noting that he was “the first technical leader associated with the company in practically 15 years.” He added that major technology investment decisions should not be based primarily on financial analysis: “When you make major technical decisions involving billions of dollars, you don’t do it spreadsheet. That’s a terrible investment, unless technology trends happen to make it the right decision.”
Pat Gelsinger, Intel’s CEO, points to leadership and capital allocation as key factors
Gelsinger doesn’t mince words on this one: he says the executives who ran Intel before him just didn’t have the engineering chops to steer the company through pivotal tech shifts. That trend, he points out, traces back to Paul Otellini — CEO from 2005 to 2013 — who broke the mold as the first person to lead Intel without an engineering background. He was succeeded by Brian Krzanich, who rose through Intel’s manufacturing operations, and subsequently by Bob Swan, whose background was in finance and who had held executive roles at eBay and HP Enterprise Services.
Gelsinger also criticized the company’s capital allocation prior to his return. According to Intel’s financial reports, the company allocated approximately $79 billion to shareholder returns—through dividends and share buybacks—between 2015 and 2020. Reflecting on that expenditure, Gelsinger remarked, “What wouldn’t I have done to have another $100 billion on the balance sheet?” These comments from Gelsinger come as Intel works to rebuild its position. The company has lost market share over the years as competitors such as TSMC, Samsung, AMD, and Nvidia expanded their presence in the semiconductor industry. The company’s stock has risen over the past year following the U.S. government’s decision—under the Trump administration—to acquire an approximately 10% stake in Intel. Nvidia also revealed an agreement to purchase over $5 billion worth of Intel shares, giving it a stake of nearly 4% in the company. During the interview, Gelsinger also addressed the geopolitical risks associated with semiconductor manufacturing in Taiwan. Referring to the potential impact of disruptions to chip production, he noted: “When a manufacturing plant shuts down, it doesn’t start up again for 90 days. The global economic impact of a shutdown in Taiwan would be greater than that of the Great Depression.”