CEO Pat Gelsinger Steps Down with $12 Million Amid Competitive Battle With Rivals

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger bid farewell to the company with $12 million package on December 1 after having spent nearly 40 years there. The former CEO, Gelsinger, mentioned his retirement in a post on the social media platform LinkendIn on Monday and said heading the chipmaker was the “honor of my lifetime”. The move by Intel came after Gelsinger failed to deal with the mounting competition from chipmaking giant Nvidia. Additionally, lack of confidence in Gelsinger’s leadership made the company forcibly ask him to step down. 

“It has been a challenging year for all of us as we have made tough but necessary decisions to position Intel for the current market dynamics...Leading Intel Corporation has been the honor of my lifetime. I am forever grateful for the many colleagues around the world who I have worked with as part of the Intel family and can look back with pride at all that we have accomplished together,” said Gelsinger in a post on LinkedIn.

CEO bails out with $12 million payout 

According to Mint, Pat Gelsinger will leave Intel with around $12 million as mentioned in the company’s regulatory filing on Tuesday. The $12 million will comprise $1.9 million as a base salary and $ 1.5 times Gelsinger’s target bonus of $3.4 million. Both will be payable over the next 18 months. Additionally, Gelsinger will get an annual bonus for 11 months that he served as a CEO in 2024. 

Intel’s Revival Plan 

Intel was one of the pioneers of Silicon Valley, and for years it had been one of the best technology companies globally. But in the past few years it has struggled to hold its position, particularly due to mounting pressure from its rival Nvidia in the artificial intelligence chip market. The company is going through hard times to innovate and bounce back. Gelsinger was appointed as a CEO to bring glory back to the company. In nearly four years of his tenure as the head of the company, his leadership hasn’t done much to handle competition. 

In the past month the company’s board has made several decisions, including private equity transactions and dividing Intel’s factory and product-design businesses. The splitting would likely result in separating its factory business from the profitable unit that develops products. 

Apart from this, Bloomberg reported that Qualcomm was eyeing acquiring Intel, but its interest decreased due to the complicated process. But if the company splits, Qualcomm might consider buying parts of Intel, reportedly. 

Another report by Bloomberg stated that Apollo too has shown interest in investing in Intel earlier this year.