After the surprising departure of Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, his successor confirms that the established strategy will be maintained.

Following the departure of Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, Intel plans to pursue the same core strategy. This is what the new interim co-CEO David Zisner says. The statement is somewhat surprising as the exact reasons for Gelsinger’s sudden departure are still a matter of speculation. A disagreement between the man and the board over strategy seemed a realistic path forward.

In other words: Intel retains its ambition to become a global player in chip manufacturing and thus compete with TSMC, among others. Intel also wants to produce the most advanced computer chips in the world again.

Execution

How the strategy is implemented is controversial. According to Tom’s Hardware, Intel executives felt that Gelsinger had failed to bring the right products to market at the right time. She believes a broad range of relevant proprietary products is critical to Intel Foundry’s chances of success. In particular, Gelsinger is said to have failed to make sufficient use of the AI.

In fact, several products were postponed under the CEO’s reign, including the Falcon Shores AI chip. However, Gelsinger inherited a struggling Intel that had just taken forever to get a 10nm production line up and running. Under the man’s impetus, Intel narrowed its offerings, refocused, and caught up with AMD here and there, but that probably wasn’t enough.

Few candidates

Interim co-CEO Zisner and his counterpart Michelle Johnston Holthaus can now look for a CEO who can better implement Gelsinger’s strategy. However, there are not many profiles available that have the experience, vision and technical knowledge to respond to this. The man himself is one of the few who meets all the requirements. Zisner therefore points out that not too many conclusions about Gelsinger’s pension need be drawn from his statement. He insists that the former boss’s personal reasons made the difference.

In any case, Intel is still stuck in a difficult situation. The company has high ambitions and needs to implement a complex strategy while the creator of that strategy is gone. At the same time, competition is coming from both AMD and across the ARM spectrum, and Intel is having its worst quarters in ages.