Lip-Bu Tan may be one of the most powerful technology executives you've never heard of. As he steps into one of the highest-profile jobs on the planet, CEO of troubled, storied chipmaker Intel, his performance will be on full display.

Tan succeeds interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus. He’ll also rejoin the Intel board of directors after stepping down from the board in August 2024, Intel said. Zinsner will remain Intel’s CFO, while Johnston Holthaus will remain CEO of the company’s Intel Products division.

With a permanent CEO, Intel now has some stability. But turning around the design and manufacturing businesses won’t be easy.

When Pat Gelsinger tool the helm at Intel in 2021, the company was already in rough shape. Here's what Intel's new CEO is walking into.

Intel announced the end of its search for a new CEO with the hire of Lip-Bu Tan on Wednesday afternoon. Shares jumped 12% in after-hours trading, building on the day’s 4.6% gain. Tan replaces interim CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus who were installed temporarily in the wake of former CEO Pat Gelsinger’s resignation in December.

The Taiwanese chipmaker intends to run operations of Intel’s fab division but does not want to own more than 50% of it and is looking for more than one partner.

TSMC reportedly approached a handful of US AI chipmakers to potentially operate Intel's foundry in a joint venture.